Another Chance
by ManaketeSmoocher
Summary: [DISCONTINUED - Please see latest chapter] Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa were on their way home when they hit someone with their car. This accident led to giving the abuse survivor a new life - at the cost of amnesia
1. Chapter 1

"Chrom, we have to do SOMETHING."

"What do you propose we do?"

"I… I dunno." I quiet groan came from the figure listening to the two.

"I see you're awake now." A blue haired male leaned in closer, along with a blonde girl.

"Hey there." The girl smiled.

"There're better places to end up napping than a hospital, you know. I'll help you sit." The bluenette helped the person in the bed sit up. "You all right?"

"Y-yeah… Thanks, Chrom…" The small person had a bit of trouble speaking, feeling slightly nervous around the two.

"Oh? How do you know my name? I don't think we've met before."

"I… Sh-she just said it…"

"I didn't realize you were awake. Mind telling me yours?"

"My name is… It's…" The small brunette flinched, rubbing their temples.

"You don't know your own name?" They shook their head and winced.

"I know what this is! He has amnesia!" The blonde exclaimed.

"W-Where am I?" Their shoulders were hunched in an uncomfortable manner and their thin, pale hands clutched the bedsheets tightly.

"You're in the hospital. Frederick here hit you with his car when you ran in front of us out of nowhere." A dark haired male grunted, leaning against the wall. The amnesiac assumed this was Frederick. "Frederick, Lissa, and I rushed you to the hospital. We've been here since last night, but the damage wasn't as bad as we were expecting."

"Whaaat! I thought he was going to die though!" Lissa exclaimed. Everyone ignored her, though, as there was no need for a response.

"I'm glad you're awake now."

"Y-yeah…" The person in the hospital bed was small. They were very thin and pale, in fact, and this concerned our dear friend Chrom. Lissa let out a stifled yawn.

"Lissa, you should go home and sleep. Emm is probably worried." The blonde tried to protest, but ended up yawning quite loudly before grumbling to herself.

"I'll drive you." Frederick stated, standing up. The small teen in the bed spoke up softly, and the departing pair almost didn't hear them.

"M-my name… I think it's C-Coran."

"That's an interesting name. I don't think I've heard it before. Oh, and Frederick? Could you tell Emmeryn to come over?"

The older male nodded, and Lissa followed him out the door. The room was silent, save for their retreating footsteps echoing in the hallway and the soft ticking of a clock. Chrom sat in the chair next to the bed, and the smaller teen flinched, scooting away from him. The bluenette decided not to ask.

"So, Coran, was it? I suppose you don't go to our school, then." They shook their head. "... Do you know where you DO go to school?" Headshake. "Why aren't you talking?" Chrom frowned as he asked this, and Coran's eyes widened for a reason neither of them really seemed to understand. The small teen held their arms up, as if shielding their head, and drew their legs up as if to protect their stomach.

"I-I'm sorry, p-please don't hurt me!"

"Woah, woah, woah! Why would I hurt you?"

Chrom held his hands up in an attempt to comfort the scared teen, but Coran flinched and backed away. The bluenette slowly lowered his hands, frowning still. He didn't know what was wrong with the smaller person, but something definitely was. Hopefully Emmeryn could help, being a therapist and all.

"I'm sorry." He stated, not expecting a response as he pretended to look at his phone. The smaller of the two slowly began to relax, as Chrom didn't seem to pose any threat.

"I-I don't know if… if anyone has ever…" Coran didn't know how to finish their sentence, and the meaning was lost on Chrom. He didn't pressure them to try and say it though.

"Coran," He began softly, so as not to sound threatening. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but nobody you've met today is going to hurt you."

Coran nodded, slowly taking a spare pillow and hugging it, concealing half of their face. Chrom pretended not to notice the soft sniffling sounds coming from the amnesiac. Their tight grip on the pillow, along with the mild shaking that had been apparent since they woke up, went unmentioned. The older teen decided to check his phone for real this time. It seemed that Frederick, Emmeryn, and Vaike had texted him. He rolled his eyes, not in the mood for Vaike's antics. Chrom ignored the blond teen's badgering and decided to check Frederick's message first, as he was most likely to freak out if he didn't receive a response.

Fred-bear: Lissa is safe. I'm cleaning my car right now. Text me when you get back, and confirm when Emmeryn arrives.

Chrom: aight

Chrom responded in the extremely casual way he mainly typed in to annoy Frederick. He wasn't exactly sure why though, seeing as this was no time to be irritating his paranoid friend. After that he checked Emmeryn's text.

Emm: I'm on my way. Is Coran still awake?

Chrom: yeah. scared of me for some reason though. you two should talk.

Emm: Okay. I'm heading up to the room.

Chrom: i'll tell freferick.

Chrom: *frederick

Chrom sent his response to Frederick just as the door opened. Emmeryn's face was serious, as though she knew some information Chrom didn't. It still held the kindness and warmth it always did, despite the seriousness. She stepped softly into the room, closing the door behind her. The blonde cleared her throat quietly, as if announcing her presence. She walked slowly to an empty chair on the side of the bed and sat down. Coran warily looked at Emmeryn, not having taken their eyes off of her since she entered the room.

"Hello." She greeted softly. Chrom decided to say nothing and pretend he didn't exist.

"H-hi…" They seemed to shrink back, and Emmeryn could see the confusion and fear in their eyes.

"Shh, it's okay, I won't touch you." She put her hands behind her back as if to prove it, and Coran visibly relaxed. "What's your name?" Emmeryn asked, despite already knowing their name.

"C-Coran…"

"It's nice to meet you, Coran. I'm Emmeryn. Chrom here is my younger brother. Lissa is our younger sister. Frederick may look intimidating, but he's just protective of us, really."

"H-he's scary…"

"Don't worry, he would never hurt you. And I hope I don't sound rude, but what is your gender?"

"I-I umm… I don't… I don't r-really feel like a b-boy or girl really…" Coran hugged the pillow tightly, as if fearing some sort of rejection from the older woman. Emmeryn just smiled at them, though.

"It's alright, not all of us do. I won't call you either, then, is that okay?"

"Y-yeah, o-okay…"

"Coran, may I give you a hug?" The small teen, who had momentarily stopped shaking, began again. "You can say no."

They shook their head and slowly let go of the pillow. Emmeryn moved to sit on the bed with them, taking care to move slowly so Coran could see all of her movements clearly. She hugged them, placing a hand in their messy brown hair and resting her chin on their head. Coran didn't move at first, then hugged back. Their grip wasn't tight, but Emmeryn could feel tears through her blouse. She soothingly rubbed their back, and the sound of her heartbeat relaxed them.

"We don't know who your family is." Emmeryn felt Coran tense up at the mention of family, and she stroked their hair to keep them relaxed. "Would you like to come live with me?"

"C-can I?"

"Of course you can. I wouldn't ask otherwise, after all."

"I-I would l-like that…"

Coran yawned softly and began to doze off. Emmeryn could only hope that it was in her ability to make this poor child's life better. She waited for them to fall asleep, and as she did she noticed how thin they were. Did their previous family not feed them? Was being hit by a car and being sent to the hospital better than the situation at home? The blonde woman couldn't answer these questions, and neither could the person they concerned. Perhaps it was for the best Coran got amnesia. Remembering could possibly do less good than forgetting.

"Are they going to be okay?" Chrom spoke up when he realized Coran was asleep. Emmeryn carefully tucked them in, wishing she could take them home already.

"We can only hope."

* * *

_**Word Count: 1,413**_

**A/N - I'm kinda nervous about posting this one? It feels kinda self-indulgent to write a fic around my avatar... But y'know, whatever, I already planned the entire plot out basically so you can't fucking stop me.**

**Future Pairings will include:**

**Henry/Coran/Tiki (because those two are my baes and they're all going to be in a polyamourous relationship and if you're against these three being happy together you can just leave bye)**

**Chrom/M!Robin (because really, fuck F!Robin's supports with Chrom, they suck. Also her hair bothers me. And yes, Robin is a separate being from Coran bc Coran is more than just an avatar at this point tbh)**

**F!Robin/Tharja (I'll probably call her Reflet, just to differentiate the two. They would be twins, and probs would just be orphans as opposed to the super important Validar stuff bc they're not major characters. Robin will matter more than Reflet considering the whole Chrom dealio)**

**Lissa/Maribelle**

**Sumia/Cordelia**

**Virion/Libra**

**I'll come up with more ships later I guess? This is a huge gay fest except for the queer party Coran, Henry, and Tiki have going on wow**

**Also I can't decide what to make Sully's sexuality help? I like the idea of her being hella gay but also like the idea of her being straight?**

**This is a problem**

**Also I can't really get a picture of Coran right now, but here's the numbers you'd use in FEA to make them:**

**Build: 2 (the small one)**

**Face: 2 (the slanty eyes)**

**Hair: 3 (messy with the headband, but they don't have the headband at this moment)**

**Hair Colour: 2 (the kinda brownish, reddish, purplish thing I can't describe for some reason but it's closest to brown so I just go with that)**

**Voice: Male 1**

**They identify as agender and were designated male at birth. They're panromantic, and are only sexually attracted to males. I dunno what label I would file that under bc it's not homosexual? I could say androsexual I guess, bc isn't that sexual attraction towards masculine people? Or something. Idk tho, it's just males really. And Henry isn't even masculine so? Anyways, just because Coran isn't sexually attracted to females doesn't mean they don't love Tiki. They just cuddle and give each other innocent kisses and it's super cute and that's basically what Coran does with Henry just minus the nasty. And they all watch movies together and cuddle and it's cute and they're all cute and shut up they're the cutest shits ever I love them together they have everything you should strive for in a relationship. But Tiki is a little confused by Coran's lack of sexual feelings towards her at first... She gets over it p quickly and basically goes over to Henry when she needs anything of that sort. Even though Henry/Tiki is kinda weird to think about for most people I guess? Idc shut up I ship it I have weird ships agh**

**I'm gonna stop rambling... I really hope you read that bc some of it was important. The underlined stuff was important. The rest was rambling and y'know, just if you're interested on my take on their relationship**


	2. Chapter 2

The next day when Coran woke up, they felt cold. Evidently, Emmeryn had left after they fell asleep, as her kind warmth was clearly absent. They shivered and hugged themself, as if trying to replicate the feeling of her hugging them. The door opened and Coran flinched, whimpering slightly and backing away. They felt completely alone. A nurse came in with a tray of food.

"You're awake." He stated in a bored manner as Coran sat themself up. The nurse put the tray on their lap. "Eat. I'll be back to lead you to the bathroom. After that, you're free to go. The accident wasn't as bad as we thought it was."

He left, and Coran was alone again. Their hand, like the rest of their body, was shaking as they ate the food. Coran ate quickly, and briefly wondered when the last time they ate was. They then stood up and began walking around the room. It was a good thing, too, considering how Coran momentarily forgot how to move their legs to carry them anywhere. Nearly the moment they remembered how walking worked, the nurse walked back in. He lead them to the bathroom, and after they relieved themself, Coran went to wash their hands and face.

But something about their reflection made them feel paralyzed with fear. Coran wasn't sure if their eyes were playing tricks on them, but their hazel orbs seemed to flash red for a moment, and their features seemed to darken. The teen nearly fell over with shock and the reflection reverted back to normal. A thin, pale face looked back at them, alarmed and frightened. They quickly left the bathroom, returning to the hospital room had been in previously. Emmeryn was waiting for them.

"Emmeryn!"

"Hello, Coran." She stood from her seat and Coran immediately forgot about their fear from the mirror as they ran over and hugged her. The taller woman laughed slightly and hugged back. "Are you ready to go home?" Coran nodded excitedly, and Emmeryn backed away, smiling.

"Here are some clothes, so you don't have to wear that hospital gown. She handed them a pair of sweatpants and a slightly large t-shirt.

They changed quickly as Emmeryn turned the other way, not seeing the bruises and scars littering their skinny form. Emmeryn told them that they would walk home because she had left her car at home. Coran was relieved by this. Cars put them on edge; probably because that was what landed them in the hospital. Though, the amnesiac had a feeling that ending up at the hospital was the best thing that had happened to them in a very long time. Emmeryn was telling them about usual life in the house. Coran had nothing to say, but they still listened intently, and soon they arrived at the house.

Said house was large, and really quite nice. It looked old, as if it'd been in the family for some time. There was a single car parked in the driveway, and Coran could safely assume the small, gold vehicle was Emmeryn's. Coran frowned, deciding to ignore the car and follow Emmeryn to the door. She unlocked the door, holding it open for Coran and walking in behind them.

"You don't like cars, do you?" Coran shook their head.

"They m-make me think of h-how I got hit…"

"I understand. Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick are at a party right now, so it's just you and me." Coran was slightly relieved; Frederick scared them.

"We have to go buy you clothes. You can't just walk around in Chrom's old pajamas all the time, after all."

"Ahh, y-yeah…"

"Would you mind going in my car? We don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable, but everything will be easier to carry if we have the car." Coran thought for a little bit.

"I-It'll be faster, s-so okay…" Emmeryn smiled in a reassuring way, and went to go get her purse and keys.

"What's your favorite colour?" Emmeryn asked as they began driving.

"P-purple…"

"Mine is light green. Chrom wears a lot of blue and Lissa is fond of yellow."

They made small-talk and Coran learned more about the family they'd be living with now. Coran supposed it'd be nice living with them, but it would take some getting used to. Soon, the two of them were making their way into the mall. Emmeryn let Coran lead her around and go to the stores they were drawn to. They picked out a lot of skinny jeans and dress shirts, mainly in purple, white, and black. The amnesiac also picked out a pair of gold converse and matching bandana, which they promptly tied around their neck.

"Is this everything you want?" Emmeryn asked, gesturing to the more-than-full shopping cart.

"Yeah… I-Is this too m-much?"

"Well, it IS a lot." Emmeryn frowned slightly, thinking about the price.

"I-I'm sorry!" Coran shrunk back, covering their head with their arms, much like they had back at the hospital with Chrom. The older woman quickly shushed the young teen.

"Coran, it's okay." She got closer and hugged them before they got the chance to back away. "I'm not going to hurt you; you can feel safe around me." Emmeryn rubbed Coran's back, and they slowly returned the hug. "I'm going to pay, do you want to come with me?"

"I-I wanna look around a-a little more…" Coran said after shaking their head 'no'.

Emmeryn left Coran to go pay. When she returned, she found them admiring a dress. It was floor-length and the skirt was layered. The fabric was an almost-black shade of purple, and was flecked with gold and silver in a way that made it look like a piece of the galaxy. It was a really nice dress, and if Emmeryn thought about it, she could imagine Coran in it. They would look adorable.

"Coran? Are you ready to go home?" The amnesiac teen jumped slightly before turning to face the older woman.

"Y-yeah… D-do you need a-any help?" They asked, referring to the numerous bags.

"Yes, actually. Why don't you go change into your new clothes? I want to see how you look."

Coran blinked and nodded before taking some bags into the changing room. Emmeryn left momentarily to buy something. When she came back, Coran was stepping out of the dressing room. They were wearing purple pants, and a black dress shirt, along with the gold high-tops. The bandana was tied around their neck loosely, and their eyes seemed to be glued to the ground. Emmeryn walked over to them and made Coran look up at her. She smiled.

"You look wonderful."

The young teen blushed and looked down again, pulling the bandana up to their nose to cover their red cheeks. Emmeryn laughed a little before picking up some bags. Coran helped bring all the clothes to the car but didn't say anything, still feeling flattered and embarrassed from the compliment. Emmeryn hypothesized that Coran had never received a compliment before, and made a mental note to compliment them as much as she should.

When they got home, Emmeryn led Coran to their new room; the old guest room. It was a plain room with the essentials, along with a television and a bookshelf. A door led to a private bathroom. Coran looked around in disbelief. Were they really allowed to stay here? It was much nicer than the hospital room, which was the only other room they had known until then. They dropped their bags and turned to Emmeryn, eyes posing a silent question.

"Make yourself at home. We can even paint the walls, change the curtains; whatever you want."

Coran hugged her before beginning to put their clothes away (with Emmeryn's help). They unlaced their shoes, putting them in the closet. As the amnesiac turned to the last bag, they frowned. In it was the galaxy dress they had been looking at in the mall. Emmeryn must have seen it and bought it for herself. Coran picked up the dress and showed it to the blonde woman.

"Oh, do you like it?"

"Y-yeah, it'll look r-really nice on y-you…"

"On me? Oh, no, I bought it for you. You were looking at it earlier and I wanted to get you a present."

Coran hugged Emmeryn tightly before hanging the dress in the closet. The two of them went downstairs and Coran laid down on the couch as Emmeryn headed to the kitchen to make them food. She came back and placed the plate on the glass table in front of the couch and Coran ate it almost too quickly. Emmeryn smiled at them, walking over to a bookshelf and pulling a biography out. She sat down next to Coran, who had already finished their food. They laid down with their head on her lap.

"H-hey, Emmeryn? W-what's that book about?"

"This? It's a biography on Marth Lowell. Chrom, Lissa, and I are all his descendants."

"That sounds i-interesting… Can you r-read it to me?"

"Of course, dear."

She read it aloud to Coran, and for the first time since they had come home, the amnesiac relaxed. The shaking wasn't present, and they didn't seem tense at all. Emmeryn smiled as she read, and Coran smiled up at her, closing their eyes. They were nearly asleep when the sound of a lock clicking joined Emmeryn's voice. The door opened and giggling could be heard. Coran frowned, as the relaxing atmosphere had been ruined. They began shaking again and groans as Emmeryn stroked their hair.

"It looks like Chrom and the others are back."

* * *

**_Word Count: 1,602_**

**A/N - So, here's chapter 2! It's always safe to assume that Coran is shaking, poor baby**

**I dunno when the next chapter will be up, but it won't be anytime soon probably hehe**


	3. Chapter 3

"Emm, we're home!" Chrom called out as him, Lissa, and Frederick made their way to the living room.

Coran flinched at the loud voice and frowned when Emmeryn closed the book. Their foster mother (or was it foster sister?) shushed them quietly and kept stroking their hair. The amnesiac grumbled and took the book from Emm, continuing where she had left off. Coran wasn't exactly sure if it was because they enjoyed the book, or because Emmeryn had been reading to them or if it was because they were genuinely interested. It was likely a mixture of both.

"Welcome back." She smiled at her younger siblings (plus Frederick). Lissa blinked when she saw Coran, who was still laying down with their head on Emm's lap.

"Hey, it's hospital boy! What's he doing here?" Chrom elbowed her in the side softly and she (loudly) whispered, "What?"

"Lissa, THEIR name is Coran. THEY are going to be your new sibling." Emmeryn responded, making sure to put emphasis on the pronouns.

"Oh. Well it's great to have him!" Lissa received an odd look from her older siblings. "Umm, I mean them? Nice to meet you Coran!" The girl smiled widely before bounding up the stairs and saying something about 'Maribelle'.

"Chrom, I have to go home; my parents need me to repair the roof." Frederick waited for Chrom's approval and Coran hid behind their book. The dark haired teen's (man's?) appearance still frightened the small brunette.

"Okay. See ya later, Frederick."

Frederick left, and Coran visibly relaxed. They returned to reading the book as Chrom sat down on Emmeryn's other side. Him and Emm started talking, and Coran pouted. Chrom had stolen all of Emmeryn's attention just by sitting there! Maybe it's because Emm cares more about him… Coran kept reading, ignoring the bluenette as Emmeryn continued to stroke their hair. They almost didn't register that Chrom had asked them a question.

"How old are you?"

"I-I umm…" The brunette covered their face with the book, leaving the eyes to poke out from the top. "F-fifteen I th-think… m-maybe…"

"Oh, you're a little older than Lissa, then. I'm sixteen."

"O-okay…"

"Hey, Coran. You have to go to school, right?"

"Yes, that is likely required." Emmeryn answered for them, sensing their discomfort.

"Are they going to school with Lissa and I?"

"Hmm, I think that may be for the best. At least there will be some familiar faces, and everyone is fairly friendly and normal except er… those strange siblings…"

"I'm sure Henry and Tharja are fine. Anyways, I'll be seeing you around, Coran." Chrom's phone vibrated. "Gods damn Vaike, give me a break!" He looked annoyed as he stood up with his phone in his hand. Coran whimpered and covered their ears.

"W-wait, I'm sorry!" Chrom exclaimed, reaching to Coran to pet their head. "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at a friend of mine." The amnesiac was tense but slowly began to relax at his words. Could Chrom be trusted? Probably, so why not give him a chance?

"S-sorry…" Chrom ruffled his newest sibling's hair and smiled.

"It's fine. I'm going up to my room now. Night, guys." The bluenette retreated upstairs.

"It's getting quite late, isn't it?" Emmeryn asked Coran after Chrom left.

"Oh, umm… Y-yeah, I g-guess…"

"Let's go to bed. I have work in the morning and I don't want you staying up all alone."

Coran nodded and sat up, letting Emmeryn stand. She did so, telling the teen to follow went up to the attic, where Emmeryn flicked the light on and opened a box. She pulled out a pair of blue sweatpants, along with an old white shirt. She apologized for giving them Chrom's hand-me-downs, and promised they would go pajama shopping if they wanted. Coran didn't complain, thankful for the clothes and feeling warm and happy inside at how Emmeryn seemed to care for them already.

Emmeryn walked Coran to their room and tucked them into bed before leaving, turning the light off. Coran immediately felt unsafe. It was dark, like two nights ago when they got hit by Frederick's car. They had felt scared. They were running. Had they been running away? From something? Someone? Dark skin and red eyes pierced through the amnesiac's mind and a dull throbbing began in the back of their head. Coran bolted out of bed, shaking violently, and practically ran to Emmeryn's room across the hall. The amnesiac knocked shakily on the door.

"E-Emmeryn?" Soft shuffling could be heard on the other side of the door and Coran waited nervously in the dark hallway. The blonde woman opened the door after a minute, wearing a nightgown. She had a sleep mask around her neck.

"Coran? What's wrong?" Emmeryn asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she looked down at the small teen.

"I-I'm umm… I-I think I'm s-scared of the d-dark…"

"Shh, it's okay. I'll turn the hallway light on. Do you want to sleep in my room?" Coran nodded shyly as Emmeryn went to the hall and flicked the light on. "Come on, then. We can buy you a night light tomorrow."

Coran followed her into the room, leaving the door wide open. The blonde woman opened the curtains, letting the moonlight filter through the windows. Her newly adopted kid (sibling?) got in her large bed, snuggling up under the covers despite it being summer. They faced the wall and hugged a spare pillow to their chest. Emmeryn sighed and laid on the bed, on top of the covers. It was much too hot to be under them, and she wasn't quite sure how Coran could stand it! She put her sleeping mask on and closed her eyes, drifting off.

"G-goodnight, Emmeryn…"

"Sweet dreams."

* * *

_**Word Count: 960**_

**A/N - Aghh this is short, so sorry ^^; I didn't have much going on really except some little stuff about Coran being afraid of the dark and Lissa being dumb and refusing to accept that Coran isn't male. She'll get over it though uwu**

**Guest review corner:**

**Kukyo: Yo, I'm making more whether people want it or not so you're in luck XD**

**Rain Rain: There certainly is more of this! I have a long plot planned out. Plus like backstories for every character. I might write a separate story for those guys haha**

**Thanks to everyone who reviews/favorited/followed, it means a lot to me and motivates me to write more ;v;**

**I'm going to probably make a separate 'fic' that just has information on all the characters like if their legal guardian is someone relevant (like how Cordelia is Phila's daughter in this AU) and if someone has been adopted by another family (like Henry being Tharja's legally adopted brother, Ricken being Maribelle's), details on the religion that worships Naga (Nagism? Nagaism? I'm still kinda unsure about what they're called, but I know their beliefs for the most part), how magic, manaketes, and taguels work in this AU (because they're all still present), etc. Tell me if you're interested in anything!**

**By all means, point out my mistakes, blunders, and inconsistencies if you spot any! I would love constructive criticism, so don't hold back!**

**Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4

Coran woke up to an empty bed and sun in their eyes. The young teen hissed slightly, covering their face with a pillow. They frowned, not pleased with the morning taste in their mouth. Voices could be heard from downstairs if they strained their ears. Were they talking about Coran? The brunette decided to get up, yawning before heading to the bathroom connected to their room. They brushed their teeth with a toothbrush that hadn't been there yesterday before taking a shower, making sure not to glance at the mirror lest they became gripped with fear again. Coran decided to wear white pants and a light purple button down. Black socks covered their feet and muffled their footsteps as they headed downstairs. A loud bark of laughter startled Coran, nearly making them slip on the stairs.  
"No way, Stahl, you managed to eat all that without getting sick?" Came an obnoxious sounding voice. Coran peeked into the living room and identified the speaker as a tan blond wearing a grey muscle shirt. He looked unappealing.  
"Well I mean I got a little sick when I got home, but-" Stahl, presumably, was the one wearing a green t-shirt with… green eggs and ham on it? Coran found that a little odd.  
"Har, I betcha I woulda eaten way more than him and felt fine afterwards if I were there!" Interrupted the loud voice of a female with short, curly red hair./p  
"Hey guys, I really don't think Chr- AHH!" A girl with light brown hair had walked into the room and promptly tripped, falling on her face. Coran winced slightly. That looked painful!  
"Woah, are you alright?" Came the concerned voice of a brunet with darker hair than the fallen girl. Nobody noticed the sweater-clad teen, and Coran lost sight of him, wondering if he had been an illusion.  
"Honestly, I can't believe I'm even friends with you barbarians." A blonde girl said as the tan male and redhead began arguing about something stupid. Coran watched the group in fascination.  
"You all right there, Coran?" Chrom's hand landed on Coran's shoulder from behind and Coran squeaked, backing away from him and into the living room. The bluenette chuckled and walked in, Lissa following close behind. Coran squeaked again, hiding behind Chrom and blushing in embarrassment.  
"Lissa, darling, who's that?" The blonde girl's eyes made Coran uncomfortable. Lissa just giggled and sat next to her as Coran's face peeked out from behind Chrom. Everyone was staring at them.  
"Everyone, this is Coran. They're Lissa, Emm, and I's new sibli-" Chrom was interrupted by his younger sister.  
"Woah, woah, woah, what!? Since when! I didn't agree to having ANOTHER big brother everyone is gonna like better than me!" Evidently, Coran had not been introduced to Lissa as a sibling. The amnesiac bit their lip and tried to hide behind Chrom again, but the older teen put them in front of him.  
"Lissa." Chrom's voice was firm. "Nobody likes me better than you, and Coran is not our brother."  
"But-"  
"Darling, perhaps you should listen to your brother."  
"But Maribelle…" Lissa looked down, but didn't argue at the request of her blonde friend.  
"Anyways, this is Coran. Before you ask about their gender, they don't identify with one. Pronouns are 'they' and 'them' according to Emmeryn. They're going to be a sophomore next year. Everyone introduce yourselves so they can be more comfortable with you."  
"I'm Sully. If anyone gives ya shit, you can call on me to beat 'em up. Also I like horses."  
"Hi, I'm Stahl. My family owns a horse ranch but I've lived here all my life. I like food a lot." The green-clad teen laughed, and Coran still didn't understand his green eggs and ham shirt.  
"My name's Kel-"  
"Hi, I'm Sumia! I also like horses a lot, hehe… Pegasi are my favorite. My best friend Cordelia isn't here, but I'm sure she'd love to meet you."  
"Hey, don't forget the Vaike!"  
"Ugh, I wish I could, but you never shut up about yourself." Maribelle replied.  
"Jeez, lady, why ya so salty?"  
"Watch your grammar, young man!"  
"I'm older than you!"  
The two blondes began to argue as Lissa ignored their bickering in favor of playing with Maribelle's hair. Sully was trying to get Stahl to eat something that looked oddly like lint ("Sully, that's gross!"). Sumia was reading a book and… talking to herself? Oh wait, if Coran concentrated, they could make out the shape of a sweater-clad teen. His name seems to be Kellam. Chrom smiled at the scene, but Coran was shaking and looking around for an escape route. The bluenette frowned.  
"What's wrong, Coran?"  
"I-I umm, ahh… Th-there's s-so many…" They were visibly trembling, and their arms were wrapped around themself in a protective manner.  
"They're all Lissa and I's friends. No need to worry."  
"I-I umm… D-does Lissa… does she h-hate me?"  
"Why would she hate you?"  
"I-I don't… I don't know, sh-she just always c-calls me a b-boy and m-makes me really uncomfortable a-and she… sh-she just doesn't seem like she w-wants me h-here…"  
"I've been meaning to talk to her about that. I'm sure it's nothing, there's no way Lissa could hate you."  
"O-okay… if… i-if you say so…" Chrom looked thoughtful.  
"Hey, I'm sorry for having so many people over to meet you. I should have started small with my, er… milder friends. Like Stahl and Sumia."  
"I-it's okay… I think I'll just… sit over there and read a book. D-do you know where M-Marth's biography is?" Chrom laughed.  
"Which one? We have like, 20 different books on him."  
"O-oh… I-I wanted to… to keep reading the one E-Emmeryn was reading to me l-last night…"  
"Hmm, I think I know which one you're talking about." The bluenette pulled a book off the shelf. "Is this it?" Coran nodded.  
"Thanks, Chrom…" Coran smiled up at their new brother.  
"It's nice to see a smile on your face for once, little sibling." Chrom replied with a smile of his own.

* * *

_**Word Count: 1,008**_

**Guest review corner:**  
**Rain Rain: I dunno man, I just write the stuff down when it comes to my head. If your heart goes 'doki doki' that's not my fault**

**So yeah, here's chapter 4. I've had this written for a while but didn't have access to a computer all week? Yeah it sucks :/ I dunno when the next one'll be up so don't ask me because I honest-to-god have no idea.**

**EDIT: Wow there were like 5 typos there. Ech. I fixed them though, sorry about not updating. My excuse is that I was being lazy and I'll probably get back to it soon. Maybe. Idk, I'm still pretty excited about Roy in Sm4sh so it might take a while.**


	5. Chapter 5

Despite their initial discomfort, Coran found that they much preferred being around this new group of strangers to being alone. They were reading one of Marth's (many) biographies, trying to learn all they could about the man. Coran found history to be quite fascinating, and they wondered what other books Emmeryn had. They were so invested in their reading that they didn't notice Maribelle approaching the armchair they occupied. The amnesiac jumped a little, shaking when the blonde cleared her throat. She looked a little nervous.

"What are you reading?" Coran blinked and closed the book, shyly showing her the cover and hiding their face behind the book. "Oh, I love that one! Do you like it?" She looked as if she was trying her hardest to seem friendly.

"I-I… um, I think I-I… Y-yes…" Maribelle looked down and frowned. The amnesiac flinched slightly. Had they said something wrong? They mumbled something under their breath that escaped Maribelle's attention.

"I'm sorry. I'm making you uncomfortable, aren't I." Her shoulders sagged, something that seemed highly unusual to Coran despite having known her for such a short amount of time, and the was she had phrased her sentence made it clear that it was a statement, not a question. Coran felt slightly guilty upon this realization.

"Well, umm… uhh… I-I… Everyone makes me… uncomfortable…" A caring look appeared in Maribelle's eyes that Coran didn't notice.

"Would you mind if I sat next to you and read? We don't have to talk."

Coran scooted over in the large chair, making room for the blonde. She got a book of her own out of her bag, which she placed on a nearby table before sitting next to the amnesiac. Maribelle noticed them trembling as she opened her book and sighed quietly, hoping they would relax soon. The brunette lost all focus on their book, and they stared at the word 'Shiida'. It was an odd word. Coran wondered if it was a person's name? But having a person who wasn't Emmeryn sitting so close to them made them nervous. Their brain seemed to have shut down, and they weren't sure why. Maribelle didn't look threatening, so why were they afraid? Maybe it was her eyes. They almost looked red, and for some reason they weren't sure of, red eyes made them want to run to the nearest lockable room and slam the door behind them. Coran's hands shook violently, and they looked to their left, where Maribelle was sitting. She looked up when she felt their gaze, and smiled a little, though it looked a little strained. The amnesiac realized that her eyes were more of a dark pink, and tried to shake the sense of danger away.

"H-hey, M-Maribelle? You and… a-and Lissa… umm…"

"What about us?"

"Y-you're really close… right?" A light shade of pink dusted over Maribelle's cheeks and she looked down before nodding.

"I suppose one could say that." Coran furrowed their brow, slightly confused by the blonde's response, but decided to say nothing about it.

"D-do you think she… h-hates me?"

"Oh, goodness, no! My treasure could never hate anyone as sweet as you!" She paused, perhaps reflecting on her words. Coran blushed slightly, having not been prepared for the compliment. "No… I'm sure she's just jealous of all the attention you're getting. Do try to forgive her, though. She has her reasons for acting this way."

"O-okay… I'll try…" The two were quiet as they went back to their reading, tuning out the background noise. "... Thank you…" Coran mumbled, speaking into their book instead of towards Maribelle.

"Think nothing of it, dear." The blonde replied, a smile gracing her lips.

Coran found themselves able to focus on the book now that the question that had been nagging at their brain had been answered. Sure, Chrom had given an answer to the same question, but Maribelle's seemed much more reassuring. Upon finding their place in the text, Coran learned that Shiida was, in fact, Marth's wife. They wondered if Emmeryn had a spouse? She probably didn't, and the amnesiac wondered if that made them happy or sad. On one hand, they were sad that Emmeryn didn't have anyone to love her like Marth did Shiida, but on the other, they were also happy that they didn't have anyone to take their sister's attention from them. A groan sounds from across the room.

"I'm bored, damn it!"

"Well maybe ya wouldn't be so bored if-"

"Ahh, shove it, Sully!"

"Don't you dare tell me to shut up if ya can't even beat me in an arm-wrestling competition, you-"

"Oh, hey, I know!" Sully and Vaike stopped arguing to listen to Sumia. "Why don't we go to the park? It's really nice outside, and maybe I can see if Cordelia can join us!"

Nobody said anything against the cheery girl, and Coran thought they saw Chrom staring at her with a lovestruck expression. The amnesiac blinked, wondering what that thought even meant. How would someone be struck by love? Strange thoughts aside, Coran watched as everyone stood up, talking to one-another. Maribelle stood, and Coran said nothing about it. The blonde walked over to stand by Lissa, joining the conversation ("I need my parasol. I'll have you know I burn _very _easily, and I highly doubt anybody has sunscreen."). Coran felt as though they were sinking into the couch, and hid their face in their book. That is, that's what they were doing until Chrom called attention to them.

"Hey Coran, you're coming too! Why don't you join the group?" Coran froze.

"I…" They dragged out the one-syllable word and averted their gaze. Maribelle scoffed.

"Honestly, Chrom, you can't speak to Coran so bluntly like that. They're a very delicate soul and you need to be careful in your word choice."

"Hey, Maribelle, didja find a second Lissa?" Came the voice of Vaike. Maribelle blushed furiously.

"I-I'll have you know that there is nobody replacing my treasure in my list of affections! Just because I've grown protective of Coran doesn't mean I don't lo-" Maribelle stopped short, turning even redder, if that was possible. "I-I mean! Your stupidity is contagious! I need a moment alone." The blonde girl rushed off to the bathroom. Coran blinked.

"What's she so freaked about?" Sully questioned boredly as she sat back down. Evidently, they were going to have to wait for Maribelle before they left, so she may as well get comfortable.

"I-I dunno! I'll go check on her!" Lissa rushed off after Maribelle. As soon as she was out of ear-shot, Sully laughed.

"Huh? What's the big deal?" Vaike questioned dumbly. Sumia sighed.

"Ahh, matters of the heart."

"... I feel bad for Maribelle…" Coran mumbled, though nobody heard them.

It took fifteen minutes of mindless chatter before Maribelle and Lissa returned. Maribelle looked to be back to her old self, and everyone knew not to mention what had happened only twenty minutes ago. Lissa, Coran, and Chrom went up to their rooms to retrieve their shoes as everyone in the living room found their own and put them on. Soon, they were all ready to go, and the group made their way outside.

* * *

**_Word Count: 1,201_**

**I struggled a lot with this one phooo, please forgive me for taking so long ^^;**

**I have a general idea of where I'm going for the next chapter, so I hope it'll be out before too long! I hope you enjoy the mindless arguments the Shepherds are constantly getting into, as well as how Maribelle is turning out. I'm really liking how she's turned out so far. She's really nervous about making new friends, and she's really protective of Coran because they're so shy.**

**Here's to hoping you enjoy reading this, and if you're interested, I have everyone's profiles thus far in a separate "fic" you can find if you go to my profile!**


	6. Chapter 6

Coran kept to the back of the group, still feeling uncomfortable around most everyone but Maribelle. The brunette tugged at their long sleeves, questioning their decision to wear a hoodie. According to Emmeryn they had been wearing it when they had been hit by Frederick's car. Their cheeks were mildly flushed and their breath came out shallow. Due to the nature of their awakening, Coran hadn't even had the chance to eat breakfast.

It was hot with the sun beating down on the eight of them. Sumia kept saying the park would be shady, but Coran wasn't even sure they would survive the walk at this rate. The clumsy teen who had suggested the trip stopped to answer her phone, and everyone stood under a nearby tree for a brief moment of relief from the sun.

Chrom looked over at his new sibling and frowned. Coran's face was red and splotchy, and sweat was making its way down their head. Nobody seemed to notice (except maybe Kellam). The bluenette felt that if anything happen to the younger one, it would be his own fault. Suddenly thankful for bringing water with him, he moved to give some to Coran, but they fainted before they even noticed Chrom.

"Coran!" Chrom shouted in alarm as he caught them. Lissa looked startled and rushed right over, completely forgetting her grudge against the amnesiac.

"Oh gosh, we have to get him inside! Who lives nearby?" Everyone looked around before Sully spoke up.

"Don't Miri and her dumb lil' bro live around here?"

"Yeah, I think so." Chrom began to pick the fainted teen up.

"Woah there, Blue. We all know I'm in track. I can get the kid there way faster than you." Sully picked Coran up easily, putting them on her back. "Plus I know the area better. Me, Panne, and Gaius hang out with the eggheads sometimes. Just don't make me wait!" The redhead ran off.

On the way there, she heard someone call her name out. Soon after, she saw the bright orange hair of one of her closest friends. He had called out with a lazy grin on his face and a lollipop in his mouth. Walking next to him was Panne, who had a less carefree expression. She could probably smell the fainted 'man-spawn' on Sully's back. Sully noted that her Taguel friend was wearing nothing but a sports bra, as her fur covered anything that would be deemed indecent. The redhead stopped running, making sure Coran was out of the sun before responding.

"Yo, what's up?" Panne raised a brow.

"We could ask you the same. You have a man-spawn on your back." Sully shrugged.

"I gotta bring 'em to Miri's place. They fainted on our way to the park."

"They?" Gaius questioned.

"Yo don't ask me. It's what Chrom said." She began to walk again.

"Well I think 'they' look like a chick."

"Not likely. I can smell male hormones."

"Hey, I'm just gonna be safe and go with neither."

The four of them reached the home of Miriel, her mom, and her adopted brother, Ricken. It was a small place on the outside, but it had a surprising amount of room underground, where the magic lab was. Panne walked up to the door and knocked, as Sully had her hands full. Gaius just hadn't felt the need to exert the effort to do so.

The door was answered by Ricken, who was wearing a blue, short sleeved, zip-up hoodie and cargo-shorts. Honestly, with the fashion sense the kid has, it's a wonder he's friends with anyone. He grinned when he saw the two girls, who looked more than a little disinterested. Before any words could be said, Sully walked right past him and placed the unconscious teen on the living room couch. She looked at Ricken.

"They fainted from like, heat and dehydration. Go get some cold water. Chrom and co. are heading over soon." As Sully was speaking, Panne walked over to the lightswitch and turned the ceiling fan on.

"Oh man, Chrom is coming over!?" Ricken gushed before running off to find a glass to fill with water.

The trio of orphaned kids sat down on the floor by the couch, with Panne in the middle. There was a peaceful half-silence, only disturbed by the clicking of the fan and their breathing. The three of them smiled slightly at the relief from the heat. With her shoulder pressed against the Taguel's, Sully began to fan herself. Then, of course, Gaius had to ruin whatever moment they were having by draping himself across their laps.

"Ladies, ladies, I know I'm hot and all, but there's enough of me to go around!"

Panne promptly dug her elbows into his stomach, getting an 'oof' of pain from him. The two girls laughed slightly at their companion's groan, Sully absently running a hand through his stringy hair. Soon, Ricken came back carrying a glass of cold water. Sully stood up, shoving Gaius off of her lap. She took a moment to appreciate yet another sound of annoyance coming from the ginger's lips before hovering over Coran and feeling their forehead with the back of her hand. Panne and Gaius stood as well, looking over her shoulder at the person they still didn't know anything about. Coran woke up.

"Hey, you're up!" Sully's full lips stretched into a grin as her friends looked curiously at the stranger.

Coran's eyes widened in fear upon waking up. Having only seen Sully from a distance before, they weren't prepared to have a red-eyed face so close to their own. Flashes of similar coloured eyes seared through their mind, and cruel laughter rang in their ears. The amnesiac bolted upright, squeezing their eyes shut and covering their ears. Unfortunately, this did nothing to erase the images from their mind, or stop the laughing.

Sully was thankful that her reflexes had helped her lean away and avoid a concussion, though she did find herself falling backwards from a kneeling position onto her backside. Gaius looked to her, silently asking for an explanation. She shook her head and shrugged, indicating that she was just as confused as he was. Coran was mumbling things under their breath, and in the room of a genius twelve-year-old, jockish girl, lazy thief, and a Taguel, it was unsurprising that only Panne knew what to do in this situation.

The Taguel placed a steady hand on their shoulder. She could feel how much Coran was shaking and frowned. They were saying words just barely within her hearing range, and she felt the same sense of caring she felt with the younger kids at the orphanage her, Sully, and Gaius lived at. Panne sat on the couch with Coran and began to gently rub circles on their back, thinking of how she would treat one of the young kids who were scared of the monster under their beds.

"Coran, Sully means you no harm. Nobody in this house has any intention of hurting you."

She moved their hands from their ears, and Coran looked up at her. Through their blurry tear-filled eyes, they could see the warmth and caring Panne held in hers. It reminded them of Emmeryn, and they visibly relaxed. Her hands moved up to brush the hair out of their eyes, and she wiped a stray tear away. She didn't speak until her sensitive ears heard their heart rate returning to normal.

"What is it that brings you fear?"

"... The red eyes…" Coran's voice was barely above a whisper, and Panne was sure she was the only one who heard.

"Coran, look at Sully. Look at her eyes, not her lips."

Coran obliged, and reluctantly looked at her. She hadn't moved from the floor, but she was now sitting stiffly with her legs crossed. The amnesiac focussed on her eyes, flinching a little at first. They couldn't see any reason to be scared, so why were they? A frown made its way onto their lips. The cruel laughter Coran had heard earlier had clearly been all in their head. Their frown deepened. They had been nervous around Maribelle as well, and back at the hospital they had broken down when they thought their reflection had red eyes.

"Coran?" The brunette was startled by Panne's voice. "Are you still afraid?"

"... No, not any more." A small, relieved smile graced their face, and the tension in the room dissipated.

"Good."

* * *

_**Word Count: 1,411**_

**I'm back(ish)! So sorry for the hiatus, and I'm grateful to anybody who stuck with me! I have serious issues with motivation, plus the depression, band, and schoolwork isn't helping me at all. I hope to be updating more, but first I need to go add some new bios to my InfoFic! I actually really enjoy the dynamic of Sully/Panne/Gaius, though I'm not sure why (as I'm probably one of the only ones), so that was a lot of fun! I don't think Chapter 7 is coming anytime soon, unfortunately, but I really hope you'll hang in there. I'm still struggling a little with the plot, but hey, I'll figure something out.**

**Next chapter we'll be introduced to Cordelia, and possibly Miriel (who literally none of my friends like except me for some reason).**

**Leave a review if you'd like, because I love feedback just as much as any aspiring writer!**


	7. Chapter 7

After being calmed down by Panne, Coran was warned that Cordelia and Miriel also had red eyes. Sully assured the amnesiac that they were both nice people, if not a little uptight at times. Coran recalled Sumia mentioning Cordelia, claiming her as her best friend, though Coran thought she had looked a little bit too affectionate to be talking about someone who was just a friend. Ricken had proceeded to introduce himself and ask Coran a multitude of questions.

"What's your name?"

"C-Coran…"

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen I-I think…"

"You think?"

"Emm says I h-have amnesia…"

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

"... No…" Ricken looked confused at that, but before he could say anything else he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Oh gosh, that must be Chrom!"

Ricken nearly jumped a foot in the air before running to answer the door. As soon as the enthusiastic boy had left hearing range, Coran let out a relieved sigh. It wasn't that they particularly disliked him, they just found him to be a bit too insensitive. Those questions had made the amnesiac more than a little uncomfortable. Sully let out a bark of laughter at Coran's expression, and they couldn't help but smile in return.

The group from before Coran fainted began to file into the living room, though they seemed to have lost Vaike, Frederick, and Kellam along the way. Apparently they all had family business to attend to. Cordelia had joined the group at some point, and Coran immediately noticed her eyes. They tried to ignore them by focussing on the matching pegasus pendants she and Sumia had. The first person to approach them was Chrom, though Maribelle looked as if she had wanted to be the first to speak with the previously fainted teen.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I think I'm f-fine now… S-Sorry for th-the trouble…" Coran looked away with guilt.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry we didn't notice earlier." Chrom's smile was gentle and reassuring. "We're just going to stay here for while so you can get used to everyone, okay? We decided not to go to the park after all."

"I-I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault."

The bluenette ruffled his younger sibling's brown hair before getting up and going off to talk to the others, in hopes that Coran would go over and talk to some of the group. Soon after he left them, they were approached by Maribelle, who checked how they were doing before going to refill their glass of water. Lissa trailed along behind her with a mildly upset look on her face. Not wanting to cause any drama between the two, Coran accepted the glass of water and excused themself to go sit with Sumia and Cordelia. They mumbled a quiet greeting and were mildly surprised when the two of them heard.

"Oh, hey, Coran! You're okay right? Oh gosh I'm so sorry, if I hadn't suggested we go to the park you wouldn't have fainted."

"N-no it's fine… It's m-my fault for f-fainting in the first p-place…" A huff came from the redhead.

"That's ridiculous. You can't blame yourself for something you have no control over." Coran had no response for her. In fact, Coran was mainly just trying to avoid eye contact with her.

"O-oh, right, this is Cordelia! She's my b-best friend!" Sumia seemed a little awkward at this declaration, and Cordelia frowned slightly.

"... I thought you were d-dating…" Coran mumbled. "You'd make a c-cute c-couple…" Upon seeing the two of them blushing, Coran realized that they were indeed a couple.

"I-I mean…" Sumia exchanged a look with her 'best friend', who nodded slightly. "We kinda…"

"We're together, just not… officially." Cordelia finished for her. Coran was a bit confused. Why did they feel the need to hide their relationship? They didn't want to voice their opinion however, because a strange feeling in the back of their head told them if they did, the consequences wouldn't be pretty. That thought seemed vague and baseless with the lack of memories to back it up, but Coran didn't want to risk anything.

"Okay." Upon hearing the unspoken question in Coran's short response, Cordelia felt compelled to provide an explanation.

"We just… We're not sure how the others would take it. I don't want to risk losing the best friends I've ever had."

"W-well… Everyone seems p-pretty convinced that Maribelle likes L-Lissa… Th-they don't seem to m-mind."

"Hmm…" Cordelia thought about this as her girlfriend stayed quiet. It seemed that Cordelia was more nervous about their friend's reactions than Sumia was. "I suppose you're right."

Coran smiled a little, hoping the two of them would be able to tell everyone and be happy together. They sensed a silent request for a moment alone, likely to mull over the new thoughts Coran had presented to them, so the small teen stood up from their spot on the carpet with the excuse of getting something to drink. Upon entering the kitchen, they bumped into Gaius. The tall ginger blinked, not affected by the collision in the slightest.

"I-I'm sorry!" Coran stuttered out an apology, covering their face and shrinking back.

"Yo, it's fine. No need to apologize." His response seemed indifferent and Coran felt strangely comforted by the apathy in his voice. "You lookin for somethin sweet to eat?"

"Umm…" Coran noted the lollipop sticking out of his mouth, as well as the cookie crumbs on his dark brown t-shirt. A strip of fabric was wrapped around his upper arm, and fingerless gloves covered his hands. "I-I don't know…" Gaius raised an eyebrow at Coran's examination of him before smirking slightly.

"You checkin me out or what?"

"Ch-checking you out..?" After a moment of confusion, Coran's cheeks turned crimson. "N-no I-I was just t-trying t-to see w-what kind of p-person you are b-by looking at your o-outfit!" The amnesiac rushed through their statement, embarrassed.

It took Gaius a moment to try and figure out what the smaller of the two was saying, and Coran would hazard a guess that he didn't even bother fully interpreting their sentence before he started to laugh. Coran's cheeks burned even more than before. The ginger didn't stop laughing until Panne arrived to whack the back of his head. He pouted slightly before Panne spoke to him in a frustrated tone.

"Might I remind you not to make the poor man-spawn more uncomfortable than he already is?"

"They…" Coran mumbled quietly, though neither of them responded. Panne likely heard them, but didn't know what they were talking about.

"What? I was just having some fun with her."

"Th-them…" Once again, the correction went unnoticed. Coran's shoulders began to shake.

"If you're going to waste your time flirting with someone, at least do it with me so you don't waste anyone else's time."

"Aww, is someone jealous of the new girl~?"

At this point, Coran left the kitchen, not wanting to be present for the rest of the conversation. They didn't want to go back to the living room and be questioned by Chrom or Maribelle, so they left through the other door. Not completely sure where they were going, Coran began to wander slightly. Ricken's house didn't seem too big on the outside, but upon finding a door leading downstairs, Coran began to reconsider this thought.

The basement was large, and had a multitude of magic-powered lamps. Coran found themself thinking of the word 'Elfire', though they weren't sure why. Many bookshelves seemed to separate the basement into different sections, almost like small rooms. A foreign sort of curiosity overtook them as they read book titles of all sorts of magical and scientific subjects. They would have picked a book off the shelf and begun to read, but a loud explosion shocked them before that came to be. A mildly annoyed and quite eloquent voice could be heard after the ringing in Coran's ears stopped.

"That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Nope!" This voice sounded cheerful and naive, though it had a strange undertone that made Coran think there was more to the person than most would expect.

The room was quiet afterwards, and Coran suspected the two people hidden by the many shelves were talking very quietly. Hushed whispers could be heard, but the amnesiac couldn't make out the words. After a much longer silence than Coran expected, the cheerful voice sounded from behind the bookshelves.

"Well, what's the holdup? Aren't ya gonna come join us?"

* * *

_**Word Count: 1,414**_

**Sorry this took me so long! I've been busy doing just about anything that isn't writing, unfortunately. Anyways, here's this chapter. Yes, Coran gets misgendered. No, it's not funny. Yes, Panne and Gaius need to be given a serious talk about gender.**

**But we got to see some of the Pegasus knight gfs, so that's a plus! And we get a little preview of who the next chapter will feature! Do you know who the two are? (It's not that hard to guess, ha****ha)**

**Chapter 8 is already underway, but with finals this week I don't know when. I'll be able to get it out. Hopefully soon!**

**Anyways, this is your author saying goodbye, and see you readers next time!**

_**EDIT: ~fixed the typos~**_

_**I mentioned Chapter 8 being in development but I'd like to say that I've finished typing it and Chapter 9. I need to look through and correct any typos and such, but I'll be posting them soon, most likely. I'm already starting to work on Chapter 10, and I'm trying to get ahead on this fic so I can start posting regularly.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Warning: This chapter contains random information about how magic works that may or may not make sense. Please note that the author just made it up while writing and you're free to point out anything that doesn't add up.**

**Info needed to understand this chapter:**

**In just about every FE game before Awakening, there were 3 types of magic: Dark, Light, and Anima. In this AU I've grouped healing staves (Heal, Mend, etc.) in the same category as Light magic tomes (Shine, Purge, etc.). Anima magic is the 'elemental' magic (Wind, Fire, Thunder, etc.). Dark magic is, well, Dark magic (Flux, Nosferatu, etc.)**

**I'd like to point out that when I wrote this I didn't really know what exactly Flux was supposed to do when I wrote this, so please look over the fact that I described the spell wrong. I might fix it eventually, but it's not very important and likely won't matter in the long run so I don't really see the point.**

**Sorry for the A/N at the start of the chapter, I just thought it would be wise to brief the newer FE players on some terms they might not know.**

* * *

"Well, what's the holdup? Aren't ya gonna come join us?"

Coran felt rooted to the spot. The stretch of silence preceding the question had been long and suspenseful, and the brunette hadn't been expecting anyone to speak directly to them. They could hear their heart beating quickly, and their breath caught in their throat as if they had been caught doing something wrong. After they didn't receive a response, the person who had spoken to Coran began to move about, signified by the slight shuffling sounds.

Soon, a very pale head covered by very pale hair poked out from behind a bookshelf. The person's face looked very cheerful, and oddly warm under the light of the magic lamps. Upon seeing Coran, the person's smile dropped and formed a little 'o' shape, and Coran vaguely wondered why they wouldn't open their eyes. The smile returned nearly twice as big before the head it belonged to left Coran's vision. It soon returned, along with the rest of the body. Said body was covered in a purple dress, paired with a black belt and matching black leggings. There was a distinct lack of shoes and Coran felt a shy blush come to their face at the cheerful expression of the much taller person. The stranger held a hand out for what Coran assumed was a handshake.

"Hi there, my name's Henry, and I didn't know I'd be meeting such a cutie today!"

Coran blinked blankly, and their cheeks flushed darkly. They didn't know how to react to such blatant compliments, and could only nod shyly in response. This seemed to make Henry's smile grow just a little bit more, and Coran found one of their hands being taken in Henry's own. The smaller of the two looked down at their hand, which was still being held in Henry's, before speaking and hoping their voice wouldn't crack.

"I-I'm, umm, m-my name is Coran a-and I-I… I-I wasn't ready f-for such a f-friendly greeting…"

Coran shyly covered their mouth with their only free hand and blushed more, wishing very much that they could have managed to get through that sentence without stuttering. It seemed that Henry didn't mind at all, and Coran found their cheek pressed against Henry's flat chest as they were suddenly enveloped in a hug. Their arms hung uselessly at their sides and they vaguely wondered if Henry could feel the heat emanating from their face. They were so distracted by this thought (a small part wondering what perfume Henry was wearing) that they nearly missed what the taller one was saying.

"Aww, you're just too cute!"

He let out an odd sort of laugh as he messed Coran's already messy hair up even further. The amnesiac found themself smiling a little before they returned the hug Henry was giving them. Something about the pale boy's sunny disposition threw Coran off in a strange way, and they had a feeling that they had never met someone like him, even before they had lost their memories. The foreign attitude confused Coran, and they were almost at a loss of what to do. Before they were required to really do anything, Henry pulled away from the hug, smiling just as much as before. Coran felt a little cold, already missing the hug despite the surprise of it. The white haired boy gave Coran a quick peck on the forehead before taking their hand.

"You wanna come see our experiment? We're trying to see what happens if you combine Dark magic and Anima magic. Pretty cool stuff if you like weird explosions!"

"I-I mean, if it's o-okay with you!" Henry laughed a little at Coran's nervousness, causing the small teen to smile and blush upon realizing they had said something silly.

"Of course it's okay!"

"Y-you wouldn't have asked if it wasn't, w-would you?"

"Is a Manakete a bird?"

"I don't think so?"

"A Manakete is about as much of a bird as a Taguel is a snake."

"Oh." Coran furrowed their brow as Henry began to lead them through the maze of books. They felt as though they knew what a Manakete was, but they couldn't quite put their finger on it. "Manaketes are reptiles, right?" Henry put a thinking face on before speaking a riddle that sounded oddly made up.

"Those whose power links above, find themselves flying as free as a dove. Stones of light give birth to flowers, just as scales are granted with powers."

"... Something about religion and dragons?"

"Woah, you're pretty good! I just made that up on the spot, too!" Henry beamed down at them.

"S-so…" Coran thought about the riddle more. "Those whose power links above… Certain people have this power relating to some deity, then?" Henry stayed quiet and nodded. "Flying… I feel like you m-mean that literally." They looked up at Henry's face and were encouraged to go on. "... I-I'm not really sure about the, umm, th-the other part… You said my guess about dragons was right though."

"Well, normally I wouldn't tell unless you were right. Gotta keep 'em in suspense!" Coran frowned. "But hey, you did really good and I like you so why not?" Henry began to explain what a Manakete was.

"So Manaketes are like, kind of like a subspecies of both humans and dragons. All sortsa people have different views on how they came to be. Lotsa people think they're people blessed by the Divine Dragon Goddess who may or may not be real. Her name is Naga. Other people, like the really science-y people, think they're a strange mutation. Either way, the facts are that they're people who can turn into dragons with the aid of something called a Dragonstone. Or I guess you could think of it as dragons who stay as humans until releasing the stored power in their Dragonstone? Not many people know how it works exactly, because most Manaketes are more religious than scientific and tons of facts have been lost to history. The thing about the flowers was just because when they unleash their power, they're encased by a big pink flower bud which kinda explodes and evaporates after they turn into their dragon form."

By the end of this explanation, they seemed to have reached their destination. It was likely the furthest spot from the entrance to the basement, and seemed to be functioning as a lab. A tall, redheaded person clad in plain grey clothes and a ridiculous hat seemed to be organizing a specific stack of tomes, half of which were coloured a rich purple. The others were an assortment of reds, yellows, and sky blues. Lighting from the magical lamps seemed brighter here than in the rest of the basement, making it easy to see any random detail in the room. The redhead turned to them and adjusted her glasses before speaking.

"An accurate, if ephemeral explanation, Henry. That's barely brushing the surface of what we know of Manakete biology, though to properly ken it you would have to investigate the history relating to Manakete worship and ancient arts of transmogrification. After these studies you would need to research the link between modern day specific shapeshifters and the Manakete subspecies." Coran blinked at the wall of words.

"So basically, I got it right! That's Miri-speak for ya! Her mom is even worse, nyahaha!" The amnesiac laughed a little awkwardly and waved, suddenly aware of the fact that Henry was still holding their other hand.

"H-hi…" Before they got the chance to introduce themself, Henry did it for them.

"Miriel, this is my cute new friend Coran. They're the special intruder."

Coran's hazel eyes widened in surprise as they turned their head sharply to look up at Henry. For once, they weren't embarrassed by the seemingly groundless compliment aimed indirectly at them. No part of them was concerned at being called an intruder. They were fully surprised, however, by the pronoun usage in that sentence. Neither Henry nor Miriel seemed to find it odd, and Coran wasn't sure whether to mention it. The two of them seemed to have noticed Coran's reaction, though not the reason for it.

"What's up?" Henry's question was casual yet direct.

"I-I…" Coran swallowed a lump in their throat. "Y-you… You d-didn't call me a…" They stopped their sentence there, not sure how to word it, and hoped the others understood.

"A boy or a girl?" Coran nodded and suddenly Henry's smile seemed softer and kinder than it had been before. "I don't really get gender. Why does society wanna split us into two groups and force us to do stuff we don't wanna?"

"Agreed." Miriel seemed to share Henry's statement. "There have been a multitude of phenomenal scientific and magical discoveries made by intelligent women, yet our work gets stolen away by others because society has given more power to one specific gender identity. Even still, it ignores other identities, creating a gender binary that doesn't even apply to the entirety of the population. It's a ludicrous sentiment."

"Y-yeah."

Coran smiled at the two of them and sat on the floor as Henry did. Miriel followed soon after, and Coran watched quietly as she pulled out two books from the organized pile in between the trio. Henry followed suit, picking a purple tome and a red tome. As Miriel adjusted her silly hat, Coran noted that she had the same coloured books as Henry, but they all had different symbols on the covers. A look at the other books revealed much of the same, and Coran decided to begin reading one of the books as well.

They chose a yellow tome, and the word 'Elthunder' came to mind. Miriel looked up when she noticed them taking the book, but decided that she needn't prevent them from reading. She wasn't expecting them to be able to actually perform magic, after all. Coran could feel a dull energy pulsing from the book in their hands, but didn't care to find out how to tap into it. Much of the reading was in an ancient looking form of speech, but Coran found it strangely easy to read. There seemed to be footnotes on certain things, and many odd directions and incantations. Everything they read felt so familiar that Coran felt they had been reading books like that tome their entire life. After reading the Elthunder tome for some time, they decided to look at a different one, the new tome being sky blue. One thing was immediately apparent to them.

"Hey, th-the main incantations start and end the s-same way." Miriel and Henry looked up from their books.

"Yes. The opening of the gate of magic and the release of the gathered energies."

"When do you c-close the gate?" Henry and Miriel looked at them in surprise.

"We never thought about that." Henry was the to answer. "Miriel, how have we never thought about that?"

"... The opening of the gate is elementary magic knowledge. I didn't think of it closing at the time and I've never needed to look back at it."

"So when do we close it? In dark magic you sap energy from the victim and send it back into the gate. I've never been an expert on Anima magic, so I dunno any of that funny business."

"Well, I would presume you close it at the end of the incantation…" Miriel slowly began to reread the incantation with the new goal in mind.

"Umm…" Coran scanned their Elthunder tome. "It looks like it's r-right there in the middle…" They mumbled the small phrase that both the Elthunder and Wind times seemed to share.

"... It appears you're correct." Miriel adjusted her glasses as she looked up at them. "Though I must wonder how you found this with such celerity."

"O-oh, umm… I guess I-I just don't think it's v-very hard to underst-stand?" Henry clapped.

"It looks like they're a genius! Who'da thunk?"

"A useful skill for this type of study." Miriel smiled in satisfaction at the new knowledge.

"Th-thank you?" Coran smiled sheepishly at the attention.

"Henry."

"Yes sir?"

"You are our expert on Dark magic, yes?"

"I think so. Though if you're looking for a good Dark Mage you should talk to my sis."

"You'll do for now. How do the gates work with Dark magic? I'm asking to clarify." Coran felt that she was also asking so that the newest member of the group would be able to know what they were talking about.

"Well, with Dark magic you don't really open the gate unless you need to kinda 'dispose' of the energy you're using. Like, I know with Light magic and Anima, you're borrowing from the cycle, but Dark magic gives back to it. Flux is the most basic offensive spell, and it causes the energy around the target to become distorted and dangerous. It uses leftover energy in the air to do that spooky thing, and when it's finished, the gate opens to receive the used energy, which it renews for a Light or Anima user to benefit from it. The gate closes right after it gets all the energy you used back." Henry finished what was likely a rather short explanation and Miriel mulled over the review of information. Coran, however, was the first to speak.

"So if you th-think about it… The first half on an Anima s-spell is gathering energy from the gate, and the s-second half is directing it and releasing it. With Dark magic, the energy isn't f-from the gate, it's going b-back to the gate. If you t-tried to combine the s-spells, you would either have to g-gather energy from the gate and not the air around, or vice versa. Then y-you would have to d-direct it and s-send it back into the g-gate."

"Or we could gather it from both the gate and the air around us for an outrageously powerful and nigh impossible to control influx of magical energy. We would be able to level cities with that kind of power."

"That sounds like fun!"

"Henry, we are here to research new discoveries, not destroy cities."

"Actually, I'm just here because sis got mad at me for being happy. You're the one who wanted my help in this crazy experiment of yours."

"W-would this incantation work?" Coran interrupted the two, showing them a spell they had written out on a blank sheet of notebook paper in the journal they had found on the pile of books.

"Well…" Miriel took the paper. "I'm not completely sure what the spell would do…"

"I-I tried to mix Elfire and Nosferatu…"

"Hmm… Theoretically it all depends on how you've directed Nosferatu."

"Oh yeah, Nosferatu is a funky spell. You could use it on yourself to heal someone else if you wanted, nyahaha!"

"I was aiming f-for a reversal spell that… un-burned things…" Coran blushed, completely unsure as to whether what they wrote made any sense.

"That would likely be easier with a mixture of Anima and the healing branch of Light magic." A smile appeared on Miriel's face. "But where's the fun in magic being easy?"

Henry jumped to his feet and went to go get something. He quickly returned with a box of wood blocks. Miriel appeared to be going over Coran's spell, making small revisions where she felt they were needed and humming when it looked satisfactory. Henry helped at the sections regarding Dark magic, and soon they had a spell written.

"Well, evidently we need to start with a burnt object." She picked up a simple Fire tome, along with some sort of advanced wind tome Coran didn't recognize.

"_Fire!_" The woodblock caught fire. Before it could disintegrate to a pile of ash, she clapped her hands one time, saying a word under her breath that Coran couldn't quite hear. The woodblock ceased burning, though it was clearly charred.

"Remember the way Nosferatu works is that when the gate opens to receive the energy, it opens directly on top of what you're trying to heal, causing the energy to flow through it before going into the gate. I mean, I'm gonna be casting the spell because Miriel isn't good at Dark magic and I dunno if you can use magic at all, but hey, food for thought."

Miriel flipped the page of her research journal and positioned her pen before motioning for Henry to start. He began to recite the incantation, reading off of the paper Coran was holding up for him as he held his hands over the burnt woodblock. A very red hue of purple magic began to glow beneath the pale boy's hands as he spoke, telltale rings of magical energy surrounding him the more he said. Miriel was writing notes as she watched, likely mentioning the specific shade of colour the energy was, as well as the pattern of the magic rings. After a moment that seemed to last forever, the magic died down, and the room's energy levels dropped back down to normal. The trio looked at the woodblock.

"Well…"

"It kinda worked at least!" Henry's smile widened.

"Yes… You're perspiring."

"I might have accidentally used my own personal magic energy to try and heal the wood because I messed up the beginning of the incantation."

"... Do it again, and correctly please this time." The redhead did not look amused.

After re-burning the wood, Henry cast the spell again. The results seemed very much the same to Coran, but Miriel seemed to be jotting down more notes than she had before. Henry seemed to have performed the spell much quicker this time, and there was no sweat on his brow. This time, however, the block of wood seemed to be trying to grow leaves. Keyword being trying. The block was dead, and couldn't grow.

"An interesting side effect." Miriel began to talk to herself. Upon remembering the other two were in the room, she spoke up. "You two are free to excuse yourselves now. I have no further need of research partners, though your assistance was much appreciated." Coran looked between her and Henry.

"I-I would rather stay d-down here and read…"

So the three of them stayed on the plush carpet in silence, Henry insisting Coran use his lap as a pillow while the small nonbinary teen read and the Dark magic user ran his fingers through their hair.

* * *

_**Word Count: 3,065**_

**Well this ended up longer than expected? It was a lot of fun to write, but I have no idea of any of that fancy magic business makes any sense.**

**I don't have much to say here other than the fact that I'll be trying to upload once a week on Saturdays? I'm not sure how well this plan will work out but at the very least I'll be able to last 3 weeks including this one ;v;**


	9. Chapter 9

Coran wasn't sure how long they stayed in the basement with Henry and Miriel, but it appeared the piles of tomes they had read and were planning to read was only growing. Time almost seemed to slow down in the peaceful silence as Coran felt warm and relaxed with Henry's fingers combing through their messy brown hair. The amnesiac was so absorbed in their reading that for once, they weren't concerned in the slightest as to what was going on with the others.

"Has anyone seen Coran?"

Chrom interrupted any conversations his friends may have been having, a concerned look on his face. Many of the people in the room shook their heads, trying to think of the last they saw of the small teen. Gaius seemed to have a confused look on his face, and Chrom turned to look at the ex-thief.

"I bumped into her on my way out of the kitchen. Dunno where she went after that cuz Panne walked in and interrupted us."

"He left halfway through our conversation, if you could even call it one. I think he left through the other door, though I stopped paying attention to him afterwards."

Chrom paused, not responding at first. A frown made its way onto his face as he tried to think of what had thrown him off in their answers. When the realization hit him, he felt rather foolish for not noticing right away.

"Coran isn't a boy or a girl."

"What, she's- I mean…" Before Gaius could stumble over his words any more, Maribelle scoffed.

"Honestly, didn't Sully tell you dunderheads that Coran uses they/them pronouns?" The blonde girl looked almost as upset as she did any time somebody insulted Lissa. Almost.

"Uhh…" Gaius responded in a less than eloquent manner.

"What he means to say is that by the time we arrived at the house and got our greetings out of the way, we were too busy taking care of the man-spawn to be talking about anything like that." Panne provided an explanation for Gaius.

"A likely excuse." Maribelle frowned, unsatisfied.

"Hey guys, I know gender is important and everything, but shouldn't we be looking for Coran?" Sumia interrupted before Gaius could get himself into any more trouble.

"They might be in one of the rooms or in the basement." Ricken spoke up, hoping to provide a starting point.

"Good thinking, Ricken. Sumia, come check the basement with me. Everyone else, search the rest of the house." Chrom commanded his friends, and everyone began to stand up.

"Umm, Chrom? I hope you don't mind me asking, but why me?" Sumia looked mildly confused, glancing at Cordelia.

"W-well, I just thought that…" A blush made its way on the bluenette's face as he spoke. "No reason really."

Sumia raised an eyebrow at his response before shrugging. She noted that her girlfriend looked mildly frustrated and sent her a little smile, hoping to shoot down her jealousy. A brief moment of thought had her wondering whether the rest of their friends still believed she and Cordelia had large crushed on Chrom. Either way, it seemed to work, and the group split up and began to look for Coran. Chrom took a deep breath before walking to the basement, Sumia following behind.

One could definitely say Chrom was nervous. He wasn't expecting Coran to be in the basement at all. In fact, the only reason he wanted Sumia to search it with him was because he had a massive crush on the clumsy girl. As the two of them proceeded down the stairs, Sumia (unsurprisingly) tripped, causing Chrom to reach out and catch her. Their faces were closer than Chrom expected and a wave of heat went over his cheeks. Sumia smiled awkwardly before apologizing and steadying herself, making it the rest of the way down the stairs without any mishaps. When Chrom reached the bottom of the stairs next to her, Sumia spoke up.

"Hey, Chrom?"

"Yes?" He commended himself for keeping his voice steady.

"Do you like me?"

"W-well I mean, of course I do! You're a great friend!"

"No, I mean do you like like me?" She sounded like a first grader and Chrom nearly laughed. He would have answered her, but she went on. "Because that would be really awkward."

"Because we're good friends?" The two of them were walking through a maze of books and Chrom found it extremely easy to avoid her gaze.

"Well yes, that too, but I was thinking it'd be really awkward because I'm-"

"Sumia!" A cheerful voice interrupted as they turned a corner.

"Henry!" The Pegasus lover was unsure whether to feel happy or irritated that she couldn't finish the sentence.

The duo seemed to have found Coran, but the amnesiac was asleep on Henry's lap, hugging a tome to their chest. Henry's pale fingers ran through their hair in an oddly natural manner, and Miriel seemed to be so engrossed in her theories that she didn't even notice there was company. Chrom wasn't sure how he felt about the situation. On one hand, he was relieved that he didn't confess to Sumia as she seemed apprehensive about the idea. In that same hand, he was very glad that they found Coran, but was a little uncomfortable at how close they were to Henry. Sure, he had earlier assured Emmeryn that him and his sister were fine, but that wasn't how he felt about the Dark Mage siblings at all. On the other hand he was frustrated that they hadn't found Coran later, as he felt he needed to know what Sumia had to say. Sumia began to speak again.

"We were looking for Coran… Do you mind if we take them home?" Chrom raised his eyebrows at Sumia's question. Why did she even ask? He certainly wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Hmm, yeah, I kinda do mind." Henry brushed some hair out of the sleeping face on his lap. "They look confy."

"Well, we need to bring them home." Chrom spoke firmly, starting to dislike Henry. The bluenette suddenly wondered how he knew Sumia, as the two were clearly acquainted with each other.

"Aww… I guess I can't just keep them here, anyways." Henry began to shake Coran gently.

"Hmng?" They blearily opened their eyes as Henry's face began to swim in their vision.

"Wake up, sleepy head! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were dead." Coran giggled slightly at the rhyme, yawning as they rubbed their eye.

"I don't wanna…" They mumbled, snuggling into Henry's lap. "You're comfortable…" Chrom's frown deepened at the interaction and he decided to make his presence known.

"Coran, we have to get home. The sun is starting to set."

"Ahh, C-Chrom!" Coran bolted upright, wide awake as their cheeks flushed a bright red.

"Well, I'm glad you're awake now I suppose." Chrom felt mildly annoyed.

"S-sorry…" Coran mumbled, hiding their face in their hands. Chrom sighed, remembering not to be cross with his younger sibling.

"It's fine. We should probably hurry, though. We don't have a car and I want to get home before dark." Coran nodded slightly.

Chrom was about to help them up, but Henry beat him to it despite not having been standing moments ago. Coran smiled up at him, thanking him as Henry laughed his odd laugh for whatever reason. He was always laughing about something, whether it was actually funny or not. The white haired boy said something to Coran that Chrom missed while glaring at him, and Henry started to put his flats on. He then said goodbye to Miriel. As Chrom, Sumia, and Coran began to head to the exit, Henry followed.

"What are you doing?" Chrom asked him, trying not to let his irritation show.

"Do your ears not work or something? I just said I was walking Coran home." Henry answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Right. Of course." Just what he needed; a Dark Mage knowing where he lives.

When they reached the living room, the only people there were Ricken, Lissa, and Cordelia. Sumia immediately ran over to the redhead, giving her a big hug. She then proceeded to tell her the obvious news that they found Coran. Cordelia informed them that most of the group had to go home, and she was the only one who stayed behind besides Ricken, who was already in his house, and Lissa, who was waiting for Chrom.

"Ugh, I can't believe you made us search the whole house for him when he was in the basement the whole time." Lissa groaned, sticking her tongue out. "Maribelle offered to take me home but I didn't wanna freak you out."

"Lissa…" Chrom gave her a look.

"What?" Before Chrom could answer, Henry spoke up.

"They/them pronouns~" Coran quietly thanked Henry, smiling up at him while Lissa rolled her eyes.

"Let's just go. I don't wanna see boys flirting with each other."

"I-I'm not a b-boy…"

"Hey, umm, Cordy and I have to go…" Sumia interrupted what would have most definitely become an argument in which Lissa lost and angrily stormed away. Luckily, this didn't happen.

"My mother has my curfew at nightfall, and you know I can't be late. I probably won't see you again until school starts because of marching band, so goodbye." Cordelia smiled pleasantly before waving and walking out with Sumia, her hand on the other's lower back. Chrom offhandedly decided that was an odd location for a hand unless you were dating the person, but shook it off. Lissa tapped her foot impatiently.

"Are we going or not? And why is Henry here?"

"He's…"

"I'm walking Coran home. What's the address anyways?"

"I don't see why that would matter. You two aren't walking alone, after all." Coran looked between them, but after a moment of thought they answered Henry's question.

"It's 1175 Altea Drive." Coran refused to meet Chrom's gaze after saying this. The bluenette likely had a look of mild shock and irritation on his face. Sure, Coran had amnesia, but that didn't mean they couldn't read someone's attitude towards another.

"Thanks, Coran!" Henry took their hand in his own before starting to walk out the door. "To Altea we go!"

Chrom glared at Henry slightly while Lissa rolled her eyes. The siblings followed the two of them, noting that Henry seemed to be leading them a much different way than the one they got there with. When questioned, the pale boy insisted it was the fastest way before resuming his conversation with Coran. He was evidently telling the truth, as they reached the house in record time. Emmeryn's car was in the driveway, and the lights were on. The sun had just recently set, and Coran was holding Henry's hand tighter than before as they felt a shiver go through them at the darkness. Lissa rang the doorbell, likely being a little frustrated that she hadn't just gone home with Maribelle. Emmeryn answered soon after, removing her reading glasses as she opened the door.

"Oh, there you are." She smiled gently. "How was your day?" The blonde woman questioned as she invited them inside.

"Boring." Lissa stated while crossing her arms.

"A little embarrassing." Chrom recalled his interactions with Sumia.

"I-I had a pretty g-good time after I g-got away from everyone…" Coran mumbled, thinking of the time they spent in the basement with Henry and Miriel.

"That was awesome!" Henry laughed, having had nothing negative happen to him, besides his sister kicking him out of the house for being too happy. That happens a lot, though, so he wasn't affected by it.

"Well, Chrom, Lissa, I'm sorry to hear that." Emmeryn gave Coran a look that said they could speak to her if anything happened. "And who's this?"

"Hey there, the name's Henry!" He held a hand out for a handshake, which Emmeryn accepted.

"Nice to meet you, Henry. I'm Chrom, Lissa, and Coran's older sister. Your dress is very cute."

"Thanks! So is Coran." He kissed the amnesiac on the forehead before ruffling their hair and letting go of their hand. "Anyways, I should probably head home now. I live on the other side of town, but I wanted to walk them home." Emmeryn's initial reaction was to blink in surprise at Henry kissing Coran. She had then proceeded to raise her eyebrows at their blush. When she heard Henry's last sentence however, she was concerned.

"The other side of town? But it'll take hours to walk that far, and it's not safe when it's dark. Please, let me give you a ride home." Henry just shook his head as he began to open the door.

"That's okay. I like walking in the dark, anyways. Makes me think there could be anything out there waiting to pounce and tear me to shreds!" The four people in front of him didn't know how to respond. "Nice meeting you, Ms. Lady, I'll come visit sometime. Bye bye~!" He left, and Coran stifled a giggle.

"What a weirdo." Lissa stated grumpily before trudging up to her room. Chrom began to wonder if something was bothering his sister.

"He's certainly an interesting character. What do you two think?" Emmeryn asked, more interested in Coran's response than Chrom's.

"I don't like him."

"I-I think he's r-really n-nice…" Coran blushed and hugged themself. "H-he's nothing l-like anyone I've m-met before and…" The nonbinary teen looked off to the side, mumbling something neither Chrom nor Emmeryn could hear.

"... Well I still don't like him. I agree with Lissa; he's weird." Chrom frowned slightly. "It's been a long day. I think I'll go to bed."

"Good night, Chrom. Make sure you've written your essay before school on Monday."

"Yeah, I'll get to it tomorrow I guess."

"Do you want to call someone to help you? I know one of my clients has kids who are good with books. Her son could help you understand what you're supposed to write about." Chrom considered his pride before answering.

"If it gets the job done faster and better then sure." The bluenette yawned. "Night, Emm."

"Love you, Chrom." Chrom mumbled something akin to 'love you too' before making his way upstairs.

Emmeryn smiled before looking at Coran. She offered to make them dinner, and Coran insisted they help cook. Together, they made dinner, and Coran realized they hadn't eaten all day. They felt much better after the meal, and after they helped Emmeryn clean up the kitchen, they followed her to the living room. She picked up a book from the coffee table and sat down. Coran sat next to her after finding a tome in the bookshelf, and she began to speak.

"So, what was the last part of your sentence earlier?" Emmeryn asked the question casually as she opened her book where she left off.

"O-oh, w-well I-I umm-" Coran's reaction was immediate and a dark blush fell across their cheeks. They put a hand on their face and looked away in embarrassment before mumbling the answer. "I-I s-said I l-liked it when he c-called me c-cute…"

"Well he's not wrong." Emmeryn laughed softly.

She was glad Coran had found somebody to like, even if that someone happened to be an odd Dark Mage fellow. It almost seemed like their first step towards having a regular life, and Emmeryn couldn't help but smile because of it. Coran held their tome close to their face, likely trying to hide their flushed cheeks while seeming like they were doing something productive. Emmeryn decided to go to her own reading, letting the embarrassed amnesiac calm down. They sat there and read together until Coran spoke up, likely pretending the previous conversation hadn't happened.

"Y-you said Chrom has to w-write an essay?"

"Ahh, yes, the summer project he has for school. What about it?"

"I-I don't know I was just c-curious…"

"Speaking of school, actually…" The blonde woman closed her book, picking an agenda up from the glass coffee table. "Today is Thursday. School starts on Monday. I got you an appointment with a test administrator at the school. You'll be taking a sort of entrance exam on Saturday, so you'll have all of tomorrow to look over the material. I'm hoping you'll remember what you learned before you lost your memory." Coran nodded in understanding.

"I-I think I remember the information, j-just not my p-personal l-life…"

"That's good to know. Now, the way Ylisstol High School functions is that there are different levels for each class. You're not bound by your age or grade, you're put in the level of class your abilities match, so none of your classes should bore you with information you already know."

"D-do you think I'll be in any c-classes with the others?"

"Hmm, probably. At the very least you'll have home room with Chrom and Lissa. We don't know your last name so we just registered you as Esaltare. That's our name." Coran nodded. "You can call someone over to help you study tomorrow if you want."

"O-oh! Can I call H-Henry?" Emmeryn thought about this for a bit before smiling.

"Of course. I'll look into the school board and find his parent's phone number."

"Th-thanks, Emmeryn…" Coran yawned.

"Let's get you up to bed, hmm?"

"But I'm not t-tired…" Coran said in between yawns.

It was the last thing they said before falling asleep.

* * *

**_Word Count: 2,905_**

**Sorry not much happened in this chapter! Next chapter we'll be meeting our favorite gay bird tactician, who'll have an... _interesting_ reaction to a certain someone... I've taken the liberty of developing said bird as a character, as well as his twin sister, so don't expect a generic Robin, because he's gonna be kinda biased and grumpy. In this AU him and Reflet don't have amnesia, so that's the main thing shaping their personalities tbh.**


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Coran woke up in their bed. They sat up slowly and stretched, feeling sluggish, before yawning and getting up to do what they could only assume was their usual morning routine. After brushing their teeth, they took a quick shower. They found themself feeling strangely anxious as the showered, almost as if they weren't allowed to spend more than 10 minutes cleaning themself. Their next course of action was to get dressed and get something to eat. Not really in the mood to put on nice clothes as they weren't planning on leaving the house, they settled for clean pajama bottoms and their hoodie they had when they were hit by Frederick's car only three nights ago. As they got to the bottom of the stairs, they heard the doorbell ring, making them jump slightly from the sudden sound.

Coran felt an odd sense of relief that they couldn't begin to understand, and an urge to go back to their room entered their mind. Looking around showed that Emmeryn wasn't around, and Coran deduced that Chrom and Lissa were still asleep. Something in the back of their head was telling them to not answer the door under any circumstance, but the thought felt foolish when they focussed on it. They still didn't want to answer the door, though. It wasn't until the person had rung the doorbell twice that Coran finally forced themself to answer the door. Upon realizing they were too short to look through the peephole without some form of effort, Coran opened the door and hoped for the best.

The person standing on the other side of the door had messy hair nearly as white as Henry's and tanned skin that made Coran feel slightly uneasy. His eyes behind the thick black glasses were a rich chocolate brown, and Coran noted a small earring in his right ear. He wore a simple cream coloured buttoned shirt and dark pants with his purple Vans. A dark, slightly bulging messenger bag was slung over his shoulder. Realizing Coran wouldn't be the first to speak, the taller of the two opened his mouth to greet them.

"Hello, I'm Robin. Does Chrom live here?" His voice was polite and neutral, and had an accent that sounded vaguely like Henry's.

Coran stared at him. Something about him seemed awfully familiar, though Coran couldn't remember meeting him. Perhaps they had known each other before Coran had lost their memories? But Robin didn't seem to have recognized them, so that doesn't seem likely. The white haired boy waited patiently for a response, trying not to be concerned by the silent person in front of him. Coran seemed to remember that they hadn't responded and they felt their cheeks flush.

"A-ahh, s-sorry! Y-you just seem w-weirdly f-familiar…"

"I don't think we've met? I've lived in Plegia most of my life. I didn't move to Ylisstol until last month."

"O-oh…" There was a moment of silence before Robin spoke.

"Does Chrom live here? I'm supposed to be helping him with schoolwork or something along those lines."

"O-oh, yes, s-sorry! I-I think he's still sleeping… You can c-come in though." Coran opened the door all the way and stepped back, letting the white haired male inside.

"This is a nice home." Robin commented before turning to face Coran. "You never said your name."

"I-I'm sorry! My name is C-Coran…"

"I used to know someone named Coran. He…" Robin frowned as if trying to recall a lost memory. "He never left his house. I don't really remember anything about him. He had a twin sister, though. She looked nothing like him." Coran frowned. Robin seemed to be lost in thought. "I can't remember what he looked like, but I know he looked nothing like his sister. It's funny." Robin smiled at his vague childhood memories. "I moved away from that town when I turned 6, though. I haven't seen either of them since then." Coran didn't know what to say. "Sorry, I'm probably boring you."

"N-no, you're not! I-I just think it's r-really weird that y-you used to know somebody with m-my name…" Coran said the next sentence in a mumble. "I-I can't even remember anything before t-three days ago…" Robin blinked before smiling at Coran.

"Who needs the past? We're all living in the present and looking to the future after all." Coran smiled back at him, absentmindedly playing with their hoodie.

"O-oh, I should probably g-go w-wake up Chrom! Umm, m-make yourself at h-home I guess?" Robin nodded and began to look at the bookshelf in the living room.

Coran went upstairs quickly, ignoring the growing hunger pains in their stomach. They almost felt as though being hungry was a natural thing for them, though they couldn't imagine why. Upon reaching Chrom's door, they hesitated. What if Chrom was grumpy at being woken up? Remembering Robin waiting downstairs, they worked up the nerve, gently knocking on the door. Upon receiving no response, they sighed before knocking harder. It was at this time that Coran decided Chrom was most certainly fast asleep. They groaned before going back downstairs.

"I-I don't wanna g-go in his room…" Coran mumbled an apology to Robin.

"It's fine. His loss if he doesn't want to get his work done. Besides, I don't mind talking to you. It's almost like talking to an old friend I haven't seen in a long while." Coran smiled a little.

"Y-yeah… C-can you tell me about P-Plegia?" The name felt strange on their lips, and they wondered if it had anything to do with their lost memory.

"Hmm… Well, it's west of Ylisse. Most of it is in the desert, so there's not much water and it's really hot, much hotter than it is here. It was still a fun place despite its flaws, though. Lots of people there are gifted in magic, but we didn't have much in the way of wildlife after you left the areas around the border. Unfortunately, it's also home to the largest population of Grimleal members in the world." Robin shook his head at the mention of the group Coran somehow seemed to know was a cult. "They were the main reason my mom moved to Ylisse with my sister and I. It took her a long time to save up enough money, but we recently moved into an apartment nearby." Robin blinked, adjusting his glasses and smiling in slight embarrassment. "Sorry, here I am telling you my life story when you can't even remember four days ago."

"N-no it's alright! I-I like hearing about it…" Before Robin could respond, there was a knock at the door. Coran briefly wondered why the person didn't ring the doorbell before going to answer the door.

"Henry?"

"Nyahaha, hey Coran! Did you get even cuter since yesterday?"

"H-Henry!"

Coran was immediately swept up in a hug from the pale boy and a blush made its way onto their face. They began to giggle at the unexpected guest as they hugged him back. Henry's ever-present smile was just as cheerful as it had been the day before, and Coran didn't know what to say. After Henry put them down, the two of them began walking to the living room. The pale boy spoke up.

"Betcha weren't expecting me, huh?"

"N-no, actually, what are you doing here?" Coran remembered Emmeryn saying she would try to contact Henry's parents, but the blonde woman didn't say she had done so, so the brunette was indeed surprised.

"I was in the neighborhood so I felt like stopping by."

"You live across town." Before Henry could answer, Robin looked up from his book in shock.

"Wait, Henry?" The tanned boy looked shocked, though Coran couldn't quite tell if he was happy or frustrated.

"Yessir!"

"Henry Sharma?"

"Right again!"

"The silver-haired legend of PAMI?"

"Woah, do you know me?"

"I just said you were a legend." Robin stood, walking over to him with a frown on his face. "You're exactly how I… how they describe you, unfeeling smile and everything."

"U-umm…" Coran felt mildly confused and left out of the conversation. Robin provided them with an explanation.

"As you already know, I used to live in Plegia. PAMI, the school I went to, is the Plegia Academy for the Magically Inclined. Henry used to go to that school, though he mysteriously disappeared one day after…" Robin stopped talking. He seemed uncertain as to whether he should finish his sentence. Henry's ever-present smile stayed in place, but Coran noticed him tense up. "Nevermind. All I was saying is that he disappeared one day." Robin addressed Henry directly. "Everybody still talks about you. About how you never stopped smiling. They're all convinced you've died. They think your spirit is still at the school, ready to destroy anyone it doesn't like."

"B-but why would his sp-spirit be like that? Henry isn't l-like that at all!" Coran paused. "... Is he?" The amnesiac looked up at Henry, who hadn't said a word.

"... Maybe just someone with the same name." Robin suddenly stated, his eyes narrowing. "I seem to have a talent for meeting people with names of others I used to know."

The tension in the room was obvious. Henry hadn't moved a muscle, and Robin wouldn't take his eyes off of the tallest person in the room. Robin slowly backed away, before turning around and going to sit back on the couch. He looked up at Henry once more, in what Coran could only describe as a glare, before going back to his book. A glance at the cover revealed to Coran that it was actually a Thoron tome. It was quite obvious that Robin actually did know Henry, despite what his final words had been. The small amnesiac looked between the two of them, before putting their hand on Henry's arm. Much to their shock, they could feel how tense he was. They hugged the pale boy, patting his back in an attempt to sooth him, though they didn't know what was wrong. Soon, Henry spoke, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Anyways, what's Robin doing here in the first place?"

"I never told you my name." The boy on the couch frowned.

"Oh, it's no biggie. A little birdie told me~"

"... Well, I'm here to tutor Chrom, but he's asleep, so I'm studying for my placement exam on Saturday."

"W-wait, really? Th-that's what I'm s-supposed to be d-doing, too."

"Hey cool, you can study together!"

Coran smiled up at Henry, though their smile was slightly uneasy. They wondered what was really going on inside his head? A growl from their stomach stopped any string of conversation about to happen, and Coran blushed, covering their mouth with their hand for a reason they didn't understand. That's not where the sound came from, after all. Henry began to laugh his odd laugh, which Coran suddenly realized really was empty and emotionless. They frowned, uncovering their mouth as their hands went into the pockets of their hoodie, blush still present on their face.

"Aww, have you even eaten today?" Coran shook their head. "That's not so good. You have to eat to be healthy and happy! That's what Sis's mom is always saying. I'll go make you something to eat!"

"H-Henry, you don't h-have to…" Coran vaguely wondered what he meant by his sister's mom. Wouldn't his sister's mom also be his mom?

"Well I want to." The taller one stuck his tongue out like a child before walking to the kitchen. Coran almost asked how he knew where the kitchen was before sighing and decided it didn't matter. They looked over at Robin, who was ignoring them.

"H-hey, Robin?"

"Hmm?"

"W-what happened before Henry d-disappeared?"

"... It's not my place to tell you." He averted his eyes. "Only Sharma has that right." It took Coran a moment to remember that 'Sharma' was apparently Henry's last name, but after this realization Coran nodded.

"O-okay…"

The room was silent, only interrupted by the occasional page-turning from Robin. Coran didn't know what to do with themself, so they turned to the bookshelf and pretended to look for something to read. They weren't in the mood to read, but it beat standing there awkwardly. Their mind started to wander. What was Henry's deal? Upon first meeting him, Coran hadn't noticed anything unusual, but with Robin's reaction to meeting him, and his brief story, they weren't sure what to think. Chrom definitely disliked him as well, though they couldn't imagine why. Coran sighed. They just wanted to eat and take a nap. Sure they had just woken up, but they didn't want to accept that Henry wasn't just a happy guy. The two of them had only met yesterday, though, so they weren't expecting Henry to tell them anything. After thinking for a while longer, they felt slim arms wrap around their waist. Coran felt a blush rising as Henry put his chin on their head.

"Breakfast's ready~"

"O-okay."

Henry led them by the hand to the dining room, and Coran once again wondered how the pale boy seemed to know the entire layout of their house already. It seemed he had made them pancakes and arranged a side dish of various fruits, such as raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. apple slices, pieces of melon, and sliced kiwi. There was a teapot next to it, along with several substances to be mixed into it. Coran blinked, not exactly sure when they sat down. They turned to face Henry, who was sitting in a chair next to them.

"You put this together for m-me?"

Henry nodded, and Coran felt a blush rise to their cheeks, feeling bad that Henry cooked for them despite it not even being his house. Coran ate while Henry told them funny stories about animals. They mixed honey into their tea and ate all the fruit excepting the blackberries. Before Coran could feel bad for not eating everything, Henry began to eat the neglected fruit, so they decided to mention nothing of it. After finishing their food, the two of them stayed in the dining room, Henry sharing fantastical stories of demons and witches. Robin showed up in the doorway and cleared his throat to announce his appearance before speaking.

"I'm going to go wake up Chrom. Which room is his?"

"Umm…" Coran didn't get the chance to answer, because Henry beat them to the chase.

"Upstairs, second door to the right!" Robin nodded, leaving, and Coran couldn't not ask him a question that was on their mind.

"H-how do you know the entire layout to th-this house?"

"A little birdie told me~" Henry left it at that.

Upstairs, Robin was grumbling to himself. The only reason he was even at that house still was because he was getting paid. To tutor someone. Someone who wasn't even awake. Robin sighed. It shouldn't be his job to wake this Chrom guy up, so why was he bothering? As if it weren't bad enough that he had to wake up someone who didn't value his education enough to be ready for his tutor, he had run into the infamous Sharma boy. Robin probably would have left if he didn't need the money. His mother had barely been able to scrape up enough cash to move him and his sister to Ylisstol, so the three of them all had to work as hard as they could just to survive in the slightly pricey city. He felt a pang of sadness. Sure, Ylisstol was a great place, but everything felt so busy all of a sudden, the weather was colder, he didn't have any friends, his sleep schedule was ruined, and he missed home. The Plegian boy shook his head to clear his mind of those thoughts and and looked at the door to Chrom's room.

He knocked. Upon receiving no response, he grumbled to himself, opening the door. It felt weird to be waking this person up despite not having met him yet, but Robin was sick of sitting around and studying information he had already memorized. The room wasn't dark, as the sunlight was streaming through the window. Robin frowned upon seeing the messy state of the room. He had half a mind to pick up all the dirty clothes, but it wasn't his room, so that would probably be seen as odd. The tanned boy stood awkwardly in the stranger's room, not sure what to do for a moment. After firming up his resolve, he walked over to the bed, noting that this Chrom fellow had blue hair. Robin shook his shoulders, and Chrom began to wake up, turning to face the tanned boy. The newly awakened teen yawned before speaking.

"Mmm, who're you?" Chrom was still mostly asleep.

"I…" His voice caught in his throat as he realized that Chrom was actually fairly attractive and perhaps this visit wasn't so bad after all. Robin almost couldn't believe how gay he felt. "I-I'm Robin. Your tutor."

"Tutor?"

"Yes, your tutor who got here an hour ago. The one who's supposed to be helping you on your essay." Chrom seemed to have woken up more, and sat up quickly upon realizing he had overslept. Robin quickly averted his eyes.

"I-I think you should probably get dressed!"

* * *

_**Word Count: 2,881**_

**So we meet the grumpy bird. Weird info revealed through him, too! Next chapter: Robin is super gay and also Lissa finally talks about her problems**


	11. Chapter 11

"I-I think you should probably get dressed!"

It took Chrom a moment to realize what Robin's embarrassed expression meant. He had, after all, just woken up. Robin adjusted his glasses as he began to back away from the bed, looking just about everywhere that wasn't Chrom's bare chest. Chrom's very well-toned and very bare chest. Good gods he was gay. Robin was so gay he could not believe. On an unrealistic scale where hetero and homosexual are the only extremes, Robin could safely say he was so incredibly far on the homosexual side that he broke the scale. He would not even be able to express how gay he was in that moment as he practically ran away from the attractive man he was supposed to be tutoring. Chrom only sat there in confusion.

"Umm… bye?"

The bluenette looked at his door as Robin slammed it closed, but shrugged, not thinking much of the strange occurrence. He did, however, realize that he had been sleeping for two hours more than he had planned, and decided he should get up and dress himself as soon as possible. After putting some clothes on and running his hands through his hair in a vague attempt to look presentable, he left his room, only to see Lissa poking her head out of hers. The blonde was wearing lacey white pajamas that he had never seen, and Chrom wondered why she was wearing them. Before he could ask, she spoke flatly, an irritated look on her face.

"What the hell." He could only assume she was referring to the slammed door.

"... I overslept and I think the guy who came over to help me write my essay is mad at me." Chrom still had enough pride not to call him his tutor. Who needed a tutor? Not Chrom. No, Chrom just needed a… a study buddy! Right. That's what he is. A study buddy. A buddy. To help him study.

"Ugh, tell him to keep it down. I'm busy." Lissa slammed her own door shut after retreating into her room. Chrom frowned, walking over to her door and knocking as gently as he could.

"Hey, Lissa… You know if something is bothering you, you can talk to me about it. I may not have any advice, but I'm willing to listen." After receiving no response, Chrom sighed, worried for his sister, before going downstairs to join the study party going on in the living room.

Lissa found herself sinking to the ground, using her door as support. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she rested her chin on her knees. She knew Chrom would listen, but she didn't want to talk to him. The same went for Emmeryn. A glance down at her phone showed that Maribelle had texted her. Lissa ignored it. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to her best friend really, it was just that she knew Maribelle would be just a bit too overbearing if she tried to talk about it. Perhaps Sumia? The clumsy girl always seemed like one to consider everyone's opinions. Lissa stood up, tugging slightly at her lace pajamas. She wasn't exactly sure why she was wearing them. Maribelle gave them to her once after Lissa asked how to be a proper lady, but she never ended up wearing them. Something about dressing the part, even when nobody would see.

After flopping on her bed, she hugged a stuffed animal to her chest, pulling out her phone and looking through her contact list. It seemed that out of the few friends she could contact, Sumia was the only viable option. Lissa felt a bit apprehensive, as the brunette was, after all, her brother's biggest crush. And only crush. Lissa couldn't even remember any other crushes Chrom had formed. She began to wonder if Chrom's crush on Sumia was even real. What if Chrom just didn't like people? Lissa found that to be an odd thought. Maybe he just hadn't found the right girl yet? She suddenly realized how off-topic her train of thought was, and decided to call Sumia before she managed to talk herself out of doing so. The brunette almost missed the call, but she managed to get to her phone on time.

"Lissa?" Sumia seemed surprised to receive a call from her blonde friend. If they could be called friends. Sumia liked to think so, but she wasn't completely sure.

"Hey… What are you doing right now?"

"Umm, nothing much." Sumia was, in fact, watching Netflix with her Pegasus. Yes, her Pegasus. She liked to think her winged friend enjoyed the time spent with her tearing up at cheesy movies. "Why? Is something wrong?" The Pegasus lover could hear the off-tone in Lissa's voice.

"Kinda… I was wondering if you could come over so I could… So I could have someone to talk to…" Lissa felt her voice growing quiet, which was quite unusual for her. She didn't want to ask for help, but she forced herself to.

"Hey, no problem. I'll be over in a bit. Just sit tight."

Sumia's voice was soft and reassuring as she hung up, likely to mount her Pegasus. Lissa sighed again, making herself sit up whilst hugging her stuffed animal. It was an old brown bear. Frederick made it for her when she was younger, even though she had insisted she was a grown-up. Thinking back on it, she never told him that she appreciated it. A small sense of regret filled her. She heard laughter downstairs and wondered what was so funny. They were probably having a good time. Lissa asked herself if they would still be laughing if she were there with them. Probably not. Nobody seems to have been enjoying her company as of late besides Maribelle. She was actually kind of surprised Sumia decided to come over at all.

Sumia herself had just landed her pegasus in the Esaltare household's backyard. After kissing the creature and running her hand through her mane, she walked around to the front to properly ring the doorbell. She fanned herself slightly, already missing the wind in her hair from flying over. A part of her did remember to be thankful she didn't live in Plegia. It got much hotter over there from what she had heard. The Pegasus lover rang the doorbell, patiently waiting for someone to answer the door. She hoped Chrom wouldn't stop her. It wasn't that she disliked talking to the bluenette, but she had more important things on her mind. The door was answered by a bespectacled white haired boy who was roughly the same height as her.

"Hello?" He asked, probably not having been expecting a guest.

"H-hi, my name is Sumia."

"Robin." He introduced himself. "What brings you here?"

"I came to-"

"Sumia!" Chrom's voice interrupted her and she frowned.

"Hey, Chrom. Is-"

"Woah, Sumia's here? Fun, fun! Is she gonna study too?"

"H-Henry, I don't think that's w-why she's here…" Sumia hoped her smile didn't seem strained. Robin provided an escape route as he smiled sympathetically.

"I doubt you came here to study."

"I really didn't. I'm actually here to see Lissa." She walked past Robin and into the house, adjusting the straps of her shirt.

"Lissa?" Chrom seemed a little confused, likely wondering why she came to see his little sister. Sumia just nodded.

"Yes. We're going to go talk about girl things." She smiled at Chrom, hoping he didn't detect the lie. "You know, things like cute boys and the best way to paint your nails."

"Can I join?" Robin asked before covering his mouth. "I-I didn't mean to say that out loud!" His eyes widen in embarrassment. Sumia did happen to notice that his nails were, in fact, painted black. Chrom gave him a mild look of surprise and the flustered teen began to explain himself. "I-I didn't mean it like that, I just wanted to…" His eyes darted toward the other Plegian in the room with a look of distaste. "I wanted to take a break." Sumia giggled slightly at Robin's nervous face, and how he sighed in relief when Chrom shrugged and agreed.

"Well, you can talk 'girl stuff' with me later, Robin. For now I have to go see Lissa. I don't wanna keep her waiting."

Sumia excused herself before making her way upstairs to Lissa's room. She was familiar enough with the house to find it right away, and she wasted no time in knocking on the door. Lissa, on the other hand, took a minute to actually respond. The blonde girl took a moment to unlock the door before opening it a crack. Upon seeing Sumia, she opened it the rest of the way. Sumia noted that she was wearing a rather cute pair of pajamas. The bear she was hugging was also very cute. Lissa didn't say anything, she just went back to her bed. Sumia closed the door behind her and followed the younger girl. She sat on the bed next to her, combing her fingers through her own windswept hair and waiting patiently for the other to speak.

"... I feel…" Sumia glanced over at Lissa, who was lying on her side with her back to the brunette. "... I feel like nobody wants me."

"I know how that feels." Sumia responded, beginning to take her shoes off. "I'm so clumsy and awkward that I don't even know how I made the friends I have now. I know that they all care about me despite my flaws, though."

"I just… I don't know, it just seems like… with Coran being here all of a sudden, everyone is paying attention to him and it feels like all of my friends like him better than me. Even Maribelle has been talking to him a lot more than she is with me." Sumia blinked in surprise.

"I think… maybe it just feels that way because Coran is new? When the novelty wears off everything'll be back to normal."

"Hmm, I guess…" Lissa fell silent.

"Is there anything else on your mind?"

"Yeah, I just don't know if I should talk about it." There was a slight pause before Lissa decided it wouldn't hurt to bring it up. "... Everyone gets mad at me when I call Coran a boy."

"They aren't a boy though?"

"What, so is he actually a girl?" Sumia frowned.

"No. They're neither. At least, that's what Chrom and Maribelle have said." Lissa sat up to face Sumia.

"But that doesn't make any sense! I get it if someone's trans, but how can you just not be a boy or a girl?"

"Well, I think it's just like identifying as male or female. Just not." Sumia frowned. "There's a lot of stuff online about it, they'll probably explain it better than I can."

"It feels weird to say call someone 'they' and 'them' though, like what, are 'they' more than one person?"

"Well when you don't know the gender of someone you usually use they/them pronouns, don't you?" Lissa was quiet for a bit.

"Wow, you're right. I don't think I even realized that."

"It's not too hard if you try to accept it. They're not any different from us, after all!"

"... I should… I should apologize to Coran, shouldn't I."

"I'm sure they were appreciate it. I heard them asking Chrom and Maribelle if you hated them and they seemed upset."

"I feel really bad about it now…" Sumia smiled at her friend.

"As long as you apologize and respect their pronouns from now on, I'm sure everything will turn out fine."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Everyone misses the fun Lissa, so let's bring her back, kay?"

"Yeah!" Lissa smiled. "First things first, I'm going to find the nearest pond and collect a bunch of frogs." She stated in a very matter-of-fact manner. Sumia clapped.

"If you ever need to talk again, I'm almost always free! Don't keep your bad thoughts bottled up like that, kay? I've done it before and trust me, it never turns out good." Lissa nodded, returning Sumia's smile.

"Thanks, Sumia. I really mean it."

Lissa hugged the older girl and sighed. The blonde couldn't believe she never realized what great friends she had.

* * *

_**Word Count: 2,044**_

**In which Robin is really gay and Lissa talks about her feelings.**


	12. Chapter 12

The next few days seemed to pass in a blur, and Coran suddenly found themself waking up to the first day of school. They had done exceptionally well in the magical theory of the entrance exam, though their skills in history were lacking in any subject not related to the Grimleal for whatever reason. Coran found that they disliked the Grimleal. They weren't exactly sure how their schedule would work out, as they would be getting it during their homeroom, but they hoped they would have classes with people they knew and got along with. That basically meant anybody but Gaius and Ricken. Upon finishing their short shower on the first day of school, they found Henry looking through their closet. A large part of them told them that they really should be surprised that Henry was there, but another part had already accepted that Henry was just like that. Still, they did need to confront him. After all, they needed to go choose their outfit for the day.

"H-Henry?"

"Yessir?" Henry turned around, and Coran was slightly shocked upon realizing the Plegian boy wasn't wearing a skirt or dress of some sort. Instead he was wearing shorts. Very short ones at that. Coran blushed when they realized they were staring at his legs, and they cleared their throat.

"I-I need to g-get dressed…"

"Oh, don't mind me. This is a pretty dress, though!" Henry seemed to be talking about the dress Emmeryn had bought Coran on that first day they went shopping. They had gotten more clothes since then, but not too many.

"Th-thank you?"

Coran debated on whether or not they should kick Henry out of their room while they looked for an outfit and got dressed. Eventually, they decided against it. It wasn't as if Henry would do anything more inappropriate than his usual banter. The amnesiac slowly inched their way into their room and towards the closet. The only thing covering them from Henry's eyes was the damp towel they had wrapped around their chest. That and the fact that Henry's eyes were actually closed. Like always. Henry seemed preoccupied looking through the closet, and didn't seem to concerned with Coran's 'outfit' at that moment. The brunette sighed, glad that their friend didn't care too much. Were they friends? Coran didn't know. The relationship between them and Henry was an odd one.

They found themself wishing they had chosen their outfit the night before, but they had been busy reading books instead. Coran looked through the closet, moving the clothes around with one arm and holding their towel up with the other. They ended up deciding on a pair of purple pants and a black buttoned shirt. As they removed the towel began to dress, they heard Henry moving. After putting their pants on, they felt a cold hand touch their side, and they shivered, flinching and tensing up immediately. Henry's hand didn't move, and Coran wasn't sure what to say. The tall boy was the first to speak.

"You have bruises all over you. Scars too." Coran looked down. They tried not to about their bruises.

"Y-yeah…"

"They're old." Henry's smile seemed strained. "You… your old family must have…" He stopped talking, and his eyebrows drew together, his smile more unnatural on his face than ever.

"I-I don't know, I-I-I d-don't w-want t-to t-talk about it…" Coran found themself stuttering more than usual as a lump formed in their throat.

"I don't want you to talk about it."

Henry's voice sounded soft, and all he did after that was hug the smaller teen to his chest. Coran wasn't completely sure when the two of them sat down on the bed. They were even less sure as to when they started crying. They felt lost and confused. Coran was crying, but they didn't know why, and the only thing they could think to focus on was Henry. Henry was just sitting there, letting them cry into his chest while he stroked their hair. His out of place calmness only made Coran feel more confused, and they didn't move for a while. It took Coran longer than expected to get it out of their system, and after they got up to finish getting dressed, neither of them said anything about it. Downstairs, Emmeryn seemed to be waiting for them.

"Good morning, Coran."

"G-good morning, Emmeryn." Coran mumbled in response. If Emm sensed anything off about them, she didn't mention it.

"I thought I would drive you to school today. Go ahead and eat, I made you breakfast. I've packed your lunch, too, but after today I don't think I'll have the time to do that every morning."

"Hey, don't worry Ms. Lady, I can take care of them." Henry assured her before accompanying Coran to the breakfast table.

Emmeryn still wasn't sure what to think of Henry. She felt that he had some dark secret he wasn't telling anybody. There was definitely something off about his smile, and she felt the urge to sit him down and try to talk to him about his problems. The blonde woman chalked half of that up to her therapist instincts, and tried to shake it off. She would have to talk to his parents at some point. Before long, Coran finished their breakfast. Henry decided to carry their bag, and the two of them followed Emmeryn into her car. They sat in the back seat, and after fastening their seatbelt, Coran squeezed Henry's hand. Emmeryn hadn't forgotten about Coran's fear of cars, though she hoped they would be able to overcome it in time. The blonde woman began to drive.

"Don't worry you two, I like to think I'm a very good driver."

And a good driver she was. The car ride didn't seem too short, but it wasn't long either. Coran wondered how long it would take to walk to school, as they would likely be doing that from now on. After getting out of the car, Coran couldn't help but stare at the large school. It looked like it would be quite easy to get lost in. Before them and Henry could step foot in the actual school, Emmeryn rolled down her window and called Coran back over, handing them a box. They opened it, and were surprised to see…

"A phone?"

"Yes. I want to be able to contact you wherever you are. My number is already in there, along with Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick's, so you can call us if you need anything. Please meet Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick right here after school so you can walk home with them, okay?" Coran blinked and Henry took the new phone, likely putting his own number into it.

"Umm, I-I think so…" Emmeryn smiled, but didn't point out that that wasn't a usual response.

"Good luck on your first day, Coran. I know it will be hard for you with so many people, but you can do it." She spoke words of confidence, making sure Coran was ready, before driving away.

There was a moment of silence where Coran wasn't quite sure why exactly they were standing in front of the large school. They also weren't sure of whether or not this silence was awkward. It seemed to be a bit early, and very few people were milling about school grounds. Coran noted that many people had odd hair colours, and wondered if that was something common in Ylisse. They frowned. That thought seemed to imply that they weren't from Ylisse, though they couldn't fathom why that would be. They supposed it made sense, as they had amnesia, but they weren't sure why that bothered them. Henry interrupted their thoughts by grasping their hand.

"Let's go see where our homerooms are!"

Coran was dragged along by the enthusiastic boy before they could even respond, and found it very hard to keep up with his long strides. They managed a sort of half-jog before he stopped in his tracks, nearly causing the nonbinary teen to fall over. Upon looking up, they saw a dark-skinned girl with black hair pulled up into pigtails at the sides. Coran found their grip on Henry's hand tighten and they looked down at the ground. A feeling of fear ran through them and they shut their eyes, trying to ignore the cruel faces flashing in their mind. Soon, she spoke.

"Henry."

"Hey, sis!" Coran was only slightly surprised that this was Henry's sister. She seemed to fit the vague description Henry had mentioned, though they were a little shocked that they looked so radically different.

"Where were you this morning? My parents made me come to school early to look for you." It struck Coran as odd that she had referred to them as her parents, and not Henry's. Was Henry adopted? That would certainly make sense.

"Oh, I wanted to come to school with Coran, so I did."

Coran dared to look up, seeing that the girl had gotten closer. They swallowed the lump in their throat and forced themself not to look away. She was staring directly at them with a judgmental glare. Coran took the opportunity to do the same, so that she didn't seem so intimidating. She let off a sort of dark aura, and the only part of her skin not covered by some sort of black fabric was her face. Her outfit consisted of a simple sleeveless dress and sheer fabric covering her neck, arms, and legs. Coran found that she was only a little taller than them, and a little on the chubby side. Her crossed arms seemed to imply that she was generally bored and unimpressed by most things, so Coran decided not to take anything she said personally.

"Huh. Well, whatever. Leave a note next time." She looked up at her brother. "I'm assuming this is Coran." The dark girl didn't seem to care, and Coran was starting to seriously wonder what her name was. They didn't say anything, though.

"Yup!"

"Hmph. Cute for your tastes." She looked past the two in front of them. "I prefer my girls to be a bit more… confident."

"Oh, you mean like Reflet." Coran wondered who that was. "Besides, Coran isn't a girl. They're nonbinary." The amnesiac decided to try and join the conversation.

"Umm, s-sorry but what's y-your n-name?"

"... Tharja. I'm this weirdo's adopted sister." Well, that answered that question. "Have either of you seen Reflet? I heard she might be transferring here this year."

"Nope, but I saw her brother! I think his name is Robin."

"I wonder if he still hates you…" Tharja seemed to have said that part to herself. "Why would I care about him, anyways?"

Before Henry could answer, an energetic laugh came from down the hallway. Tharja immediately excused herself and Coran saw her going in the direction of a girl with white hair pulled into pigtails. She reminded Coran of Robin, and they assumed she was his sister, Reflet. Henry began to walk again, a little slower than before, though. Coran found it quite easy to keep up, and focussed on their surroundings, trying to memorize the layout of the school. They seemed to have reached the main hallway, and there was a large list of what was likely everybody attending the school's name and homeroom. Coran took a moment to remember that their last name was (legally) Esaltare before finding their room.

"E-Ephraim Landvik?"

"Aww, I have Eirika Landvik. They must be twins!"

Henry let out his odd laugh, and Coran frowned. They quickly smiled, however, hoping Henry didn't see. It felt as if the more they spent time with him, the less human he seemed. Coran was really starting to wonder what Henry's backstory was. All they knew was that he grew up in Plegia and disappeared after an event. How he came to Ylisse and any other information regarding him was a complete mystery. Coran suddenly noticed that Henry hadn't said a word since they became lost in thought, and they felt slightly guilty. It seemed they had also come to a complete halt against the wall of the hallway. Coran smiled up at the pale Plegian, receiving a broader smile in return, before the two of them began to walk in the general direction of their homerooms.

* * *

**_Word Count: 2,052_**

**Ch12 aka Coran cries, school is a thing, and Tharja exists**

**Eh, it's a decent chapter I guess. Yes, that's Eirika and Ephraim from Sacred Stones. All of the teachers at school are going to be random characters from the older Fire Emblem games, and I'm literally just using the random page thing from the wiki to choose them.**

**Next chapter: Coran and Lissa talk to each other, teasing ensues, I get to giggle about Ephraim, classes are explained a teeny bit, and Henry and Coran are cute.**


	13. Chapter 13

Upon reaching the hallway everyone's homeroom was situated in, Henry and Coran noted that it was nearly time for them to be in class. Coran pointed this out, and they exchanged what seemed to have become a typical goodbye for the two. Henry kissed the shorter teen on the forehead and ruffled their already messy hair before departing, leaving Coran's cheeks red as they went to their destination. They really should get used to that. It didn't seem like he would stop anytime soon. Upon walking into their homeroom, they immediately bumped into Lissa. The two of them made eye contact before Coran quickly looked away, not sure how to act around Lissa. They mumbled a quiet apology before starting to walk past her and find a seat, but she stopped them by grabbing their wrist.

"C-Coran, wait." The blonde looked down at their hands before quickly releasing them. "Shoot! I didn't mean to do that. Chrom said physical contact freaks you out, unless it's from-"

"I-it's okay…" They interrupted, though they didn't really know what to say to the girl who had only insulted and ignored them in the time they had known each other

"I'm sorry for being a jerk and misgendering you a bunch. I was being dumb, really, you don't have to talk to me now but I wanted to say that much at least." Coran blinked and stared at Lissa, vaguely registering that she was actually a little bit taller than them. Only by an inch or so, though!

"N-no, it's f-fine." They smiled nervously, not completely sure if Lissa was going to start liking them now. She smiled, clapping her hands.

"Oh gosh, I'm so glad you're not upset! Hug?"

She seemed to be restraining herself from doing so, and Coran thought it seemed odd that she would even ask. Lissa didn't seem like she would even bother with that sort of thing. They suddenly realized she was really trying her hardest not to make them uncomfortable. Coran giggled slightly before nodding, and the two of them shared a brief hug. After they parted, Lissa dragged them over to where she was sitting with Sully and Chrom. Sully seemed to be chewing gum. The two of them immediately noticed that Lissa had returned with Coran. Chrom was the first to speak.

"Coran, you weren't there when Lissa and I woke up this morning." They smiled a little sheepishly.

"S-sorry, Emmeryn d-drove me to s-school today. She told me to w-wake up early." Coran assumed she had wanted them to get to school early so they could get a feel of the layout?

"So why'd you walk in like, right when the bell rang?" Sully blew a large pink bubble before letting it pop.

"O-oh, Henry came over and, w-well Emmeryn drove both of us. W-we were walking around until j-just now."

Coran blushed slightly, avoiding Chrom's gaze. It was quite likely the bluenette was frowning at them. Chrom didn't exactly keep it a secret that he disliked Henry, but Coran didn't want to stop hanging out with him just because Chrom didn't like it. Lissa began to giggle, and Coran blushed a little more, wondering why she was doing that. Coran looked over at her, and she seemed to be making eye-contact with Sully, who had also started to laugh. Chrom looked furious, and Coran wondered what they had missed. Lissa began to speak in a manner that seemed to be teasing.

"Sooooo, Coran~" They looked at her in apprehension, not completely enjoying the tone of voice she had. "Henry's pretty cute, huh~?" Coran felt their face turn bright red, and it was quite obvious she intended to mess with them. They ignored her teasing and looked to the front of the room before speaking only slightly louder than usual.

"H-hey look, the t-teacher is here!" He seemed to be quite a young teacher, and had a slightly annoyed, mostly serious look on his face. His bright hair matched his teal dress shirt, which was well ironed and had rolled up sleeves. Soon, he began to speak.

"My name is Ephraim Landvik, as you probably know. You'll be addressing me as Mr. Landvik. Don't call me Ephraim until you graduate." He sat on his desk, seeming to be checking his phone. "I'm supposed to give you a big speech on classroom etiquette, but I'm not in the mood because everything I would tell you is in these packets." Landvik looked up, making eye contact with a student he seemed to recognize. "Would you pass these out?" He patted a stack of large, manilla envelopes before going to sit in his chair.

Lissa turned to look at Coran, but they had their face shoved in a book. The blonde girl recognized it as a Shine tome, and felt her curiosity piqued. Light magic wasn't uncommon, but most people didn't spend their time reading the holy tomes, as they were generally harder to decipher than Elder or Anima magic. She decided not to butt her head into the matter, however, as they seemed quite intent on ignoring any teasing she had to offer. That was no fun, so she decided she'd rather talk to her brother and his friend. Who was also her friend, she supposed. Lissa had always felt that she just hung out with Chrom's friends and didn't have any of her own besides Maribelle. She felt closer to Sumia now than she had in the past though, as she had been texting the brunette a lot over the past few days. Lissa decided that she wanted to gossip.

"I can't believe Coran and Henry haven't already said that they're dating."

"They're not." Chrom responded flatly while trying to balance a pencil on his nose.

"They're not?" Sully raised an eyebrow. "Henry's already kissed 'em. Like. A bunch. Not as much as Gaius likes to smooch Panne and I, though." Chrom slammed his hand on the desk, the pencil now lying forgotten on the ground. The sudden sound attracted multiple eyes, and Coran peeked at him from behind their book.

"They're not dating. I won't let them."

"Oh, and who says you have any right to decide who's dating who?" Lissa narrowed her eyes.

"I'm their big brother and I refuse to let them date a creepy Dark magic user."

"Pff, you'd say the same if I started dating someone who wasn't even a creepy mage. I bet you'd even freak out if I started dating like… Maribelle or something." Lissa rolled her eyes, mildly wondering how a relationship with Maribelle would be. She shuddered, not wanting to think about that. Chrom raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you want to date Maribelle?"

"I-I don't! Gods, why I ever want to date a girl? That's gross. I-I mean, no offense, Sully." The redhead snorted, which quickly turned into an odd sort of laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothin, Blue. You're just weird."

"I'm the weird one? You two are the ones thinking Coran should date Henry. Henry of all people! He hasn't even lived in Ylisse for a whole year, and have you heard the rumours about him? I don't believe in rumours, but he sure has a lot more of them floating around than most."

"Well, I think they'd be cute together." Lissa stated matter-of-factly.

"And I don't think they would be." The siblings had a small staring contest while Coran mumbled something that sounded something like 'I-I agree w-with Lissa.'

"What was that?" Sully, having been the only one to realize Coran had said anything, was curious.

"N-nothing!" The brunette went back to their reading. What was the holy slaying effectiveness thing again? Magic sure was complicated.

"Really, what was it? I won't tell Chrom, cross my heart!" Lissa proceeded to draw an 'X' over where her heart was.

"I-it was nothing! I was j-just talking to m-myself about the b-book!" A very flustered Coran returned to ignoring them before the girl passing out packets approached, saving them from any further embarrassment.

"Sully Fernández?" Sully raised her hand, receiving her packet. "And umm, all three Esaltares?" Chrom nodded, smiling at the girl and taking the packets before giving them to their respectful owners.

Coran pulled out a paper, explaining the different bell schedules. They didn't feel like reading it properly, so they skipped straight to the actual schedule itself. The results of their entrance exam had placed them in one of four levels of each of the four core subjects; Math, History, Science, and Literature. It seemed they had been placed in the second grade level for math and history, and the third for science and literature. The other four class periods were to be taken up by any combination of the magic studies and electives.

As they had left Emmeryn to sign them up for classes, they didn't have any electives. She had instead put them in Magical Theory, Light Magic Application, Anima Magic Application, and Healing Magic Application. These classes seemed to have a ranking system classified by the letters E, D, C, B, A, and S. Tests were held at the end of each semester to either bump you up or knock you down a letter-value. Despite not having electives, they were quite happy to be in every Magic class barring the 'Elder' magic class. They didn't think they'd be very good at that anyways. Unfortunately, they were E rank in all of those classes save for Magical Theory, in which they held a decent B rank. The school had a policy against letting new students in Application classes higher than E rank unless they ranked A in Theory, according to the packet. This didn't bother them too much, however, as it would only inspire them to work harder.

"Oh gosh, we're in the same Light class!" Lissa seemed to have been looking over their shoulder. She gave them a smile. "I'm so glad! Maribelle placed A in Theory so she got to start in Light D. I was scared I would be all alone, but now I have my favorite sibling with me!" Lissa hugged them, and Coran laughed quietly in a way they hoped didn't come off as awkward.

"Hey!" Chrom seemed offended by her comment.

"Chrom, silly, you're my favorite brother."

"I'm your only brother."

"But you're the best one I could have!" Lissa detached herself from Coran to hug Chrom instead.

"Damn, you're smart. The only class I ranked higher than you is in History." Sully seemed to be comparing their schedules as well before sending a message on her somewhat battered flip-phone. "Plus you're in like every magic class. I'm no good at that stuff, but gimme a horse and weapon and I'm unstoppable!" Coran blinked, wondering if that was legal.

"Sully likes to joust." Chrom provided the explanation. "But she seems to have taken an interest in practicing actual fighting skills while on horseback."

"No harm in it. One day we might find ourselves in a weird apocalypse setting where the dead are comin' back to life and we have to fight for our lives."

"Coran, let me see your schedule." They handed it to Chrom wordlessly while Sully glared at him for ignoring her. "Hmm… Looks like we have history and math together. Lissa's also going to be in our history class." Coran frowned.

"I-I'm never gonna r-remember all of that…"

"Neither am I. We'll just be surprised when we see each other in a bit."

Soon the bell rang, and Coran checked their schedule. They started with Magic Theory B, followed by Light E, Math 2, Science 3, Anima E, History 2, Literature 3, and lastly, Healing E. They had no idea if they would know anybody in their Magic Theory class, considering the fact that Lissa claimed to have barely made C rank. Coran highly doubted Miriel would be with them, as she would likely be placed in an S rank class. Perhaps Henry would join them? Wishful thinking though it may be, it didn't seem entirely unlikely.

"Hey, cutie!" Coran was startled out of their thoughts by Henry picking them up and hugging them.

"H-hey, Henry…" They hugged back, and Henry put them back on the ground. Coran could practically feel Chrom glaring at the pale boy. "What rank are you in M-Magic Theory?"

"I got B, same as you, nyahaha!"

"... H-how did you know that?"

"A little birdie told me~" He stated in a very factual tone. Coran pouted, realizing that was his phrase he used when he didn't care to divulge information. "Anyways, that's not important, let's go theorize!"

At Coran's nod, Henry decided it was a good idea to pick the smaller teen up and carry them, claiming it would be easier than walking. Initially, they tried to protest, but were silenced by a quick kiss to the forehead. Suddenly deciding it would indeed be faster, Coran let Henry have his way and proceeded to hide their blushing, smiling face in his chest. Once the two were out of sight, Lissa began to giggle. Chrom redirected his glare to his little sister.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing~ Come on, pouty-face, I wanna get to class!"

* * *

_**Word Count: 2,198**_

**Ch13 aka Coran and Lissa finally get friendly, teasing, Ephraim, and Henry/Coran are cute.**

**Wow it's really late! I'm sorry, I usually update around noon where I am but it's already 10pm! I'm so glad I've written up to Ch19 for this fic, bc lemme tell ya, I haven't written anything for two weeks! Hmm... Well, I don't have much to say here so...**

**Next time: Classes are boring, Lissa likes to tease, and we meet our favorite 'Mysterious Masked Man Marth.'**


	14. Chapter 14

Coran very quickly discovered that the first day of school was quite boring. The only fun class was Magic Theory, and that was because Henry had been telling jokes the whole time. In the rest of their classes, teachers had just been droning on about what they would be learning that year. Coran found that they were more excited to actually learn than they were to simply hear about it. School couldn't have ended soon enough, and Coran found themself practically running out of the classroom. They didn't, but only because they didn't want people staring at them. Lissa ran up to them as they made their way to the front of the school to meet up with her and Chrom.

"Coran!" They turned to face her, looking up slightly. "There you are! Chrom, Fred-bear, and I are going to cut through the park on our way home, but we have to wait for the big guy to finish making sure his siblings are on the bus safely."

"O-okay…" Lissa walked beside them as the two made their way to the front entrance. Coran had noticed a drastic change in her personality recently, and they were glad she wasn't being grumpy anymore.

"So, you see anyone cute in school~?" Coran blushed.

"N-no… Why are you s-so interested in m-my l-love life all of a s-sudden?" Lissa had a look on her face that Coran didn't appreciate.

"Hah, now I know you're lying. Lemme guess who it is!" Coran frowned.

"I-I don't…"

"Is iiiiiit… Stahl?" Lissa looked as if she was just throwing random names out that she knew weren't the answer, and Coran wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"N-no…" The blonde girl gasped.

"Is it a forbidden love for Chrom!?"

"No! What's wrong with you!?" Lissa laughed.

"Okay, okay, I got it. It's Vaike, isn't it."

"Ew." Coran stuck their tongue out.

"Kellam?"

"W-who's Kellam?" Lissa snorted while laughing, and Coran wasn't sure what was so funny.

"Ricken?"

"R-Ricken is rude…"

"Hmm… Oh gosh, do you have a crush on Maribelle?"

"N-no, she's like an overbearing m-mom…"

"I'm gonna tell her you said that."

"P-please don't…"

"Gaius!"

"He's m-mean."

"Yeah, you're right. He got mad at me because I tried to sew. It's like he's expecting me to stab someone's eye out or something!"

"W-well, that's rude…" Lissa's eye's narrowed, and a mischievous smile found its way onto her face.

"I was just saying random names, y'know. I already know who you like."

"I-I don't l-l-like anybody!" Coran was more than ready to drop this conversation.

"It's Henry." She winked.

Upon seeing Coran's blushing face, Lissa let out an odd sort of giggle-snort, and ran ahead to where she saw Chrom waiting at the front of the school. He seemed to be busy typing away on his phone, and only looked up when she poked him on the nose. After a brief look of curiosity at his sister, he looked up to see a very red Coran ignoring both of them as they sat on a nearby bench. Not wanting to know what Lissa had gotten herself into this time, Chrom simply rolled his eyes and went back to his phone. As student captain of the fencing club this year, he needed to make sure everything was in order before their first meeting Wednesday of next week. Not happy with her brother's lack of reaction, Lissa groaned, looking around for anything to do. She had just started pursuing a lone frog when Frederick finally showed up.

"Ahh, there you are." The tall brunette stated, approaching the three of them. "Apologies for the wait. Shall we depart?"

"Jeeze, Freddy-bear, you talk like you just came from a 'how to speak stupidly fancy' class."

"I kindly ask you to cease calling me that ridiculous name, 'milady'."

"Urgh, Chrom, he's doing it again!"

"What?"

"'Tis nothing milord needs to concern himself with."

"Frederick."

"My apologies."

"C-can we go now? I k-kind of want to get h-home and r-read…"

After hearing Coran's quiet urging, the four of them began to walk, with the amnesiac trailing slightly behind. Seeing as Chrom was being boring with his fencing club duties, Lissa decided to slow down and walk beside Coran. They looked lost in thought and had a hand resting on their messenger bag, as if they were antsy to open it and read the books inside. Lissa decided that Coran was kind of a huge nerd. She shrugged, looking up and sighing as nobody seemed in the mood for conversation. A song popped into her head, and she decided to hum along and try to dispel the silence. Minutes passed, and Lissa groaned. None of her companions seemed to notice her boredom and she sighed soon after. Eventually, Chrom spoke up.

"What's wrong?"

"You people are boring!"

"S-sorry…" The blonde girl huffed, but she realized there was still no room for conversation.

"It's fine. Oh hey, what's that!?" She thought she had seen something glint off in the distance in the park, and ran off to go check it out, anxious to do something, anything really.

"Lissa, wait!" Chrom ran after her.

"Chrom, Lissa!" Frederick called after them, but they were already out of sight, leaving him alone with Coran.

"... Th-they'll meet up with us if we k-keep walking, r-right?" Coran's question was met with a frown, a nod, and a sigh. The two of them continued on their way.

Lissa had run into a part of the park thicker with trees, beginning to search for the item she caught sight of. She really hoped she would find something. This had to have been the most boring walk home she'd ever had! Not that she'd ever had to walk home before. She usually got a ride from Maribelle, Emmeryn, or Frederick. The only reason Frederick wasn't driving them home was because his car was in the shop. She frowned as she looked up, noting that the sky was growing dark. Chrom began to approach, and she spoke.

"Why is it getting dark already?" She frowned. "Ech! And now the bugs are out! Noisy, disgusting bugs that buzz around and crawl all over and bite you when-" Lissa slapped a hand over her mouth. "Agh! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptooey!"

"Aw, come on now, Lissa. Hardship builds character."

"Tpht! Tpht! Yeeeeeuck!" She seemed to be scraping her tongue with her nails. "... I think I swallowed it…" Her brother patted her back sympathetically.

"Protein is good for you. Anyways, what did you find?"

"Huh? Oh! Umm…" Lissa looked around. Soon, she spotted something metal glinting in the strange, out of place moonlight. "This!" She darted over and picked it up, surprised upon realizing what exactly she had found. "That's weird?"

"What is it?"

"It's a Heal Staff."

"A staff? Just lying around in the park? These things are expensive. Maybe someone lost it?"

"Maybe…" Lissa pouted. "I've always wanted one of my own… Do you think maybe..?" Chrom gave her a look. "I know, I know, it's wrong of me…" Her brother sighed.

"You can keep it. I know how much you've wanted a staff of your own."

"Oh, thank you so much, Chrom!"

Lissa hugged her brother, clutching the slightly heavy staff in her hand. She couldn't wait to use it! Though… there wasn't really anyone to use it on. Drat. Chrom managed to slip out of her tight embrace, but she didn't mind too much. Lissa noticed him staring silently at the strange, dark sky and she began to wonder where the moon was. Her grip tightened on her new staff as she turned to look at her brother. Something was definitely on his mind, and she needed to know. The question escaped her lips easily, though her uncertainty about their surroundings was clear.

"What's wrong, Big Brother?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to worry you, but… Something is weird."

"What do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure… I think I'll have a look around."

"Not alone, you won't! I'm coming too." Chrom let out a short laugh.

"Thanks, Lissa." After a few moments of walking, Lissa spoke up, fighting back the lump in her throat.

"It sure is dark… And quiet. Where did the birds go?"

"Something is definitely wrong here…"

Almost as if on cue, the ground began to shake, causing the Esaltare siblings to lose their balance, almost toppling over to meet the dirt. One could say the sky grew darker, and it looked as if some trees were falling over. A second glance and this was proved to be correct. Chrom gave Lissa a push, telling her to run as he paused, looking behind him before following quickly after. The ground they had just been standing on began to break from the rest, rising higher as a wall of lava spouted from the crack. Almost solid balls of fire flew from the wall, each landing closer to the fleeing siblings than the last. The two rounded a corner, jumping down from a newly formed ledge and away from the burning forest, finding an area free of the planet's fire. They stopped there, catching their breath. Lissa looked up, her eyes widening in shock as she pointed at the sky.

"Chrom, what is that?"

Her brother turned to look at where she was pointing, to see particles of bright white light forming together. They met at the middle, and the surrounding area seemed to lose all colour. A magical circle of unbelievable size formed where the particles joined, outlined with the signs of the Zodiac. The inner circle was so dark it almost looked like a black hole, and a strange, curved line looking to be made of glowing crystals formed in the middle out of nothing. It seemed to open like a large eyeball, revealing what could only be described as a circular blue portal.

Strange creatures began to fall from it, letting out inhuman groans despite looking human themselves. They let out loud thuds as they hit the ground, falling into the bushes, and Lissa could have sworn she heard something breaking. Their lumbering figures began to stand, letting out the same strange sounds. The sound of bones cracking were the only things Lissa could hear as she stared at their soulless, glowing eyes. She almost wanted to puke as the unfamiliar stench of rotting bodies hit her nose and she immediately felt that these 'creatures' were undead.

"Lissa, stay behind me." Chrom warned, Lissa clutching her staff tightly.

She could only nod as she held the item protectively in front of her. Lissa was, honest to Naga, terrified. Chrom got in a fighting stance, and Lissa could only wish he had an actual weapon to fight with. He wasn't captain of the fencing club for nothing after all. The bluenette had fought many matches and his skill with the sabre was unbeaten by any student in the league. Now Lissa could only pray for a miracle as the creatures slowly approached, letting out horrible screams. Black smoke seemed to come out of their mouths and Lissa clutched her staff as a lifeline as she noticed the monsters were armed with axes and swords.

Everything seemed to happen at once. One of the creatures charged at Chrom, who responded in kind, kicking it square in the chest. The tip of its sword glanced against Chrom's arm, and he managed to maneuver in a way that allowed him to disarm his opponent, stealing its weapon. Chrom then proceeded to stab it straight through the head before being assaulted by one with an axe. He slashed it through the middle, but the injury left no blood. A groan sounded from the monster before a cracking sound came from it, and Chrom turned his head to see the unsettling, glowing pink eyes staring back at him. Running on adrenaline and his own reflexes, Chrom barely parried the axe swing aimed to lop off his head, wincing at the force being applied to his own arm before pushing back on the axe enough to knock his opponent back and stab it through the gut. It disintegrated into a dark purple cloud before vanishing in the air. Chrom panted, catching his breath and rubbing his sore arm before hearing a scream and turning his head quickly.

"Lissa!"

The blonde girl was quaking in fear, chills going down her spine despite the warm weather. Her staff was the only thing between her and the monster about to swing its axe down on her. Chrom wasn't close enough and she knew it. As she simultaneously accepted death and prayed for a miracle, Lissa looked back up to the strange circle in the sky, spotting another figure emerging. She almost let out a sob, but something was different about this one. As it leaped from the circle, it landed expertly on its feet, wasting no time in dashing forward at an unbelievable speed. Metal clashed against metal as a sword that looked blessed by Naga herself stopped the axe with seemingly no effort. It seemed that the person's arms didn't quake from the blow, and all Lissa could do was stare up at the person who saved her. She couldn't get a good look, however, because they immediately forced the monster back with a strong push, driving the sword through the monster's gut and swinging upward with a strike that split the creature in half. It evaporated in much the same manner as the other, and the person glanced around, not sheathing their sword. Lissa took the odd moment of stillness to take in the person's appearance.

Their short blue hair seemed to have been recently cut, though very messily. Its blue sheen seemed to match Chrom's hue exactly, though Lissa couldn't imagine why or how. Their eyes and face were hidden by an old, battered, blue mask that looked as if it hadn't been removed in some time, and the skin showing was dry and uncared for. The outfit they had on was worn and dirty, like they hadn't been able to wash their clothes in quite some time. Several holes revealed a strange bright blue material that Lissa couldn't even begin to guess the purpose of. Their deep blue turtleneck was just a little too big for them, littered with many such holes and patches, and was extremely faded. Dark leggings cover their legs, along with faded blue combat boots. A sheath for their sword was strapped to their hip, looking as amazing as the blade in their gloved hand. Their build was lean, yet she could easily see the strength they had despite this lithe appearance. They weren't too much taller than Lissa herself, but they looked incredibly strong regardless. Lissa frowned as she tried to read the emotionless face, failing in her attempts to understand the mysterious stranger who saved her. She heard Chrom's footsteps as he got closer. When he spoke he sounded suspicious, yet relieved.

"Quite an entrance. What's your name?" The person looked back at them, but before they responded, they heard Frederick.

"Chrom! Lissa! Are you hurt?"

"Frederick! Coran!" Lissa's eyes were wide with the shock of what had just happened. The eldest of the four looked over the siblings for any wounds, not noticing the small cut on Chrom's shoulder.

"No one is hurt then? Thank the gods…"

"Thank the masked man who saved me! If it wasn't for him, I'd be…" Lissa glanced around and frowned. "Hey, where'd he go?"

"We can worry about him later, after we get away from these… things. Keep your eyes open, we can get out of here with little injury." The three he was talking to nodded. Lissa looked to her brother.

"Chrom, let me fix your arm. I don't know who left this staff here, but I'm glad they did." He obliged, and Lissa felt herself sweat slightly with the effort of using magic she wasn't used to. Frederick's eyebrows raised.

"Where did you get that sword?"

"I managed to disarm one of them." He sent a smile in Frederick's direction. "I wouldn't have made it without your self-defense training."

"I only wish to help." Frederick responded, picking up an axe. "I've never fought with an axe before, but I've chopped my share of lumber. This will do."

"... I guess I'll just stay a little behind and heal you guys."

"I-I think I m-might be able to use these t-tomes I've been reading…" The others looked at Coran in surprise as they pulled a Shine tome out of their bookbag. "I'll s-stick by L-Lissa and m-make sure she doesn't get h-hurt… Chrom, I-I think you and F-Frederick should, umm, stay c-close to each other… J-just in case…" Slightly surprised by Coran's sudden advice on what little tactics they needed, Chrom nodded firmly.

"Let's do it!"

* * *

_**Word Count: 2,809**_

**Ch14 aka Lissa gets really fucking bored then hell breaks loose.**

**I liked writing this chapter a lot, haha. It's come to my attention that I'm not going to be focusing on the plot as much as I will be focusing on character/relationship development? So anyways...**

**Next time: Hell continues to break loose, and fencing club is suddenly important.**


	15. Chapter 15

The quartet attempted to make their way out of the woods, but it seemed the undead creatures were unwilling to let them through. Coran was slinging spells left and right, and Lissa was astounded by the accuracy and power behind them. Even more impressive to her was that they didn't even break a sweat, almost as if they had been casting magic their whole life. Lissa couldn't believe they were only in the E rank Light Magic Application class, because she herself would probably rank the skill they were displaying as S. Then again, she also hadn't seen anyone cast magic before, so she had nothing to compare them to. Chrom and Frederick weren't doing as well, and Lissa had lost track of how many times Frederick had just barely saved Chrom's life. It wasn't that Chrom was a bad fighter, it was simply that he was used to focussing on only his opponent during a sword fight. Fortunately, the more Lissa had to heal him, the more confident she felt with her own magic. Unfortunately, the number of monsters only seemed to grow. Lissa almost gave up when she heard a familiar voice sound.

"Captain Chrom! Wait! I'm coming!" Sully arrived on the scene, wielding a lance she seemed to have salvaged. "Agh, I'm so glad I was passing by. This is a mess!" She shook her head, her glare becoming fierce. "All right, you ash-face freaks! Which of ya wants to try my lance on for size first? I know just the spot for it: shoved right up your-"

"Hold, darling!"

"Muh?"

"Life may be long, but attraction is fleeting! Would you leave me in your sweet dust? Leave war to the men, dear lady! A beauty such as you need wage only love."

"Ohhh, don't even start with me, Ruffles! I pick fights with fuckboys like you every day and you don't wanna see how much damage I can do to that pretty little face of yours with one hit."

"Well, it is quite a pretty face."

"Do I care?"

"But of course! It's only natural for women to be intrigued by my charms. I am myth and legend! I am he who strides large across history's greatest stage! The man who puts the-"

"I really don't have time for this, so if you're tryna tell some joke, I'm guessing the punchline is where I hit you where the sun don't shine." Sully turned to face the battle.

"W-wait, my name is Virion! Pray, do tell me your name, dear lady."

"... I'm Sully. Now buzz off, I have friends who need my help."

She ran off to join the fray, and Virion sighed. That hadn't gone as planned. Then again, most things never go as planned for him. Such was the misfortune of the ironically unlucky member of the Lachance family. He watched the redhead drive her lance through several of the undead before readying his bow, holding several arrows in his hand. Virion had only been in the park to practice his archery, and now he felt obligated to help these poor, unfortunate souls. He readied his bow, adjusting his aim before shooting. His constant practice seems to have paid off, because the arrow hit his target directly in between the eyes. The monster vanished, and Virion shuddered.

With the added efforts of Sully and Virion, the group managed to make its way out of the trees. Out in the open, they saw that the rest of the park hadn't received the damage that the forest did, and sighed in relief. The creatures didn't act to pursue them when they left, oddly enough, and Virion claimed, very poetically, that he could no longer hear their repulsive moaning. He proceeded to explain that, as an archer, he had trained his ears to hear the smallest of sounds. Frederick, not completely trusting him, decided to check the woods. He came back soon after, with the mysterious masked man following, though he seemed mildly reluctant. It seemed he had finally sheathed his sword as well; a sure sign that the threat was gone.

"It seems all the creatures are vanquished. This young man took care of the others." Said 'young man' didn't say a word, and Lissa sighed.

"Um, I never got to thank you… for before. So… thank you. You were very brave." The blonde smiled at him.

"You saved my sister's life. My name is Chrom. You would be?"

"..." He was silent, not responding for a moment. A gloved hand covered his mouth as he cleared his throat, but when he spoke they could hear the dry, raspy voice of someone who hadn't had a proper conversation in years. "Marth."

"Marth?" Chrom's eyebrows raised in surprise. "After the Hero-King? You definitely fight like a legend. Where did you learn swordfighting?" It was the question of everybody's mind. How did this stranger manage to fight off the army of undead so efficiently? 'Marth' shook his head.

"I'm not here to talk about myself. This world is about to fall into one of ruin. Tonight was just the beginning. You've been warned." Marth coughed into his hand once more before turning away from the group and going back into the forest.

"Huh? What's falling where now? Hey, wait!"

"I-I guess he d-doesn't talk much…"

"It appears his skills lie elsewhere. I wager we'll hear his name again." Frederick looked to the sky. "For now I'm more concerned about the rest of the city. We should get back to Emmeryn as soon as possible."

Sully and Virion excused themselves from the group, Sully claiming she wanted to get back to the orphanage and make sure everyone was okay, and Virion not wanting to impose on the others, as he was, in fact, a complete stranger. Chrom, Coran, Frederick, and Lissa made their way to the Esaltare household as quickly as they dared. Upon exiting the park, Lissa looked back to see the magic circle above the park had vanished, and the sky had returned to normal. The park itself was still in ruins, but all evidence of magic had disappeared. Lissa was just thankful it wasn't dark anymore, as was Coran. The four of them soon reached Emmeryn's neighborhood, sighing in relief.

"It seems the area was spared the chaos we encountered, thank the gods. I see no evidence of the great quake. It must've been limited to the forest." Lissa smiled, sighing.

"Well, that's a relief!" The rest of them nodded in agreement before Frederick spoke again.

"We need to tell Emmeryn about what happened so her and the Council can look into it. Precautions must be made, and if any more of those creatures show up, I don't want anybody to be playing in the park."

"C-Council?" Coran questioned, feeling out of the loop.

"Yes. Emmeryn is head of the Royal Council. It's an old group, and they don't much anymore, but anytime something magical happens that the police won't be able to handle, the Royal Council deals with it." Chrom explained.

"Why are they called R-Royal?"

"Well, the head of the Council has always been some form of royalty, or at least descended from." Frederick said that as if it were obvious.

"S-so you guys are r-royalty?"

"Yep! A while back, everyone treated us all fancy, but things have mellowed out. It's not like anyone has a monarchy anymore, so being royalty doesn't really mean anything at this point."

"O-oh…"

Frederick knocked on the door, waiting for a response. Coran noted that there was a Pegasus near Emmeryn's car, and wondered who could possibly have left a Pegasus there. Emmeryn was taking a bit of time to answer, but when she did she apologized for the wait. Apparently someone named Phila was visiting, and they were in the middle of a serious discussion. Chrom seemed mildly surprised, but didn't say anything, and Coran began to wonder why it was odd for this Phila person to be visiting.

"How was the walk home?"

"More than a little unpleasant." It was at this point that Emmeryn noticed the weapons Chrom and Frederick were carrying, as well as the new staff Lissa held. Emmeryn frowned, and the group walked to the living room before Frederick said anything else. "I assume I'll be needing to tell you about the deathly creatures we encountered in the park?"

"No, actually. I've been getting reports from them all across Ylisse. They're likely spawning all over the world at this point." A woman spoke up from the couch, and Coran could only assume this was Phila.

"We were just about to head to the Royal Council. Chrom, I'd like you to join us this time." Chrom nodded, and Phila stood up. The three of them, including Emmeryn, began to walk to the front door. "Frederick, thank you for making sure they returned safely. If you'd please let us see the axe for examination. It and the sword Chrom has are the only things that have been taken from the creatures thus far." Frederick only nodded, before speaking up.

"Emmeryn, would it be possible for me to attend the Council as well?"

"I don't see a problem with it. You were there, so I'm sure you can provide insights."

Thus, Lissa and Coran were left alone in the house. The two of them weren't quite sure what to do, but it seemed neither of them wanted to sit still and do nothing. Lissa began to pace in the living room, staring at her new staff, and Coran was blankly staring out the window. They walked over the bookshelf, absentmindedly running their hands over the book spines but not bothering to read any of the titles. Lissa found herself laying on the ground after a while, and she let out an impatient groan.

"Why couldn't I have gone to the stupid Council!? I almost died! Marth saved me, so I thought that'd be important. Is it not?"

"Y-you probably c-could have gone if you had asked Emmeryn…" There was a moment of silence before Lissa slapped herself.

"You're so right! I'm really dumb sometimes."

"I-I don't think you're d-dumb…"

"Heh, thanks, Coran."

Lissa laid on her back for a while before pulling her phone out. She appeared to be sending text messages, though Coran wasn't completely sure why. The amnesiac ran out of things to do, so they just plopped themself down in the armchair and pulled out their phone. They hadn't used it at all thus far, so they immediately began trying to figure it out. It seemed that they had no past knowledge of how to use a phone, so they weren't sure what they were doing at all. It seemed they had gotten several messages from Henry, though they weren't sure how to respond. Coran pouted. Before they could get too upset, however, the doorbell rang. Lissa practically jumped up and ran to the door, and Coran heard Maribelle's voice.

"Lissa, my treasure! Are you alright? I've been on pins and needles!"

"Oh, hey, Maribelle." Lissa giggled.

"'Oh, hey' yourself! I've sprouted fourteen grey hairs fretting over you!"

"Aww, you worry too much. I'm a tough girl after all!" Their voices seemed to be getting closer, and they soon entered the living room. "Although, I could do without the bugs. Ech!" Vaike's voice sounded from the front door.

"Hey, squirt! Where's Chrom? I bet he had a tough time there without ol' Teach to save the day!"

"Oh, so you're 'Teach' now, Vaike?" Lissa giggled. "And here I thought people were just born stupid. It can be taught?" Vaike entered the living room.

"Ha! Never doubt the Vaike!" He paused. "Wait, was that an insult?" Sumia walked in soon after.

"Sorry, but where is Chrom anyways?"

"Oh, him and Fred-bear got to go to the Council meeting but nobody invited me." Lissa pouted. "I can't just sit still after what happened! What do they take me for!?"

The five of them stayed in the living room for a while, Lissa recounting the horrors she had been through. Everyone had questions about Marth, but there were no answers, as the mysterious stranger had simply disappeared after his short speech. By the time Chrom and Emmeryn returned, it had gotten dark, and Lissa was starting to fall asleep in Maribelle's lap. Chrom entered the living room, claiming that Emmeryn had gone to the study to look over information. Coran yawned quietly and wondered if it would be fine for them to go to bed. The bluenette, however, had important information.

"The monsters we fought have been named 'Risen' and nobody is to go to the park until the Council is sure it's safe. Phila is going to be flying north to Regna Ferox to see if they've had any similar Risen attacks. She's going to be requesting assistance if at all possible."

"She's flying north? Where is Cordelia going to be staying with her mom gone?" Sumai seemed concerned.

"They hadn't decided that yet. I'm sure she would be safe enough on her own, but we don't know how long Phila is going to take."

"She can stay with me. I'm sure my parents won't mind." Chrom nodded at the Pegasus lover before going on to state more information. Coran found an oddly sly smile make its way onto their face at Sumia offering to have her girlfriend stay at her house.

"Regna Ferox has a strong military but they're usually unwilling to meddle in affairs that don't affect them, so I don't know how willing they'll be to help us. I heard they're hosting a fencing tournament soon, though, and if we win they may consider. I'm not sure of the details but I offered to enter our team."

"When's the tournament?"

"In about two weeks, so I have that long to whip everyone into shape. Our first meeting is being moved to Wednesday of this week, and we're going to be practicing every spare moment we have. Tell anybody you know in the club. I have to go make sure everything is in order, so I'm turning in early. You guys should do the same."

Chrom proceeded to go upstairs, and the group slowly dispersed. Sumia was the first to leave, likely going to go see Cordelia. Vaike followed soon after, saying something about his uncle. Kellam left as well, and Coran was mildly confused, as they hadn't noticed the quiet teen arrive. Maribelle was the last to leave, as she felt it necessary to check Lissa and Coran over for any injuries. She left almost reluctantly, and Coran yawned once more, deciding it was indeed a good time to go to sleep.

Hopefully tomorrow wouldn't be so eventful.

* * *

_**Word Count: 2,457**_

**Ch15 aka hell continues to break loose, and fencing club is suddenly important**

**Not much to say about this chapter!**

**Next time: Henry is missing and Robin is gay**


	16. Chapter 16

Thankfully, the second day of school was less eventful than the first. Chrom left early to take care of fencing club, so Coran was left to walk with Lissa. The blonde girl had thankfully woken up on time, and the two of them found themselves leaving the house with no issues. Classes proceeded in a most boring matter, and Coran only hoped they would actually start learning soon. The only interesting thing that happened during school was that Virion apparently went to the same school as them. Henry had been absent all day, however, and Coran was a little concerned. After school Lissa ran up to them, much like the day before.

"Hey, Coran!"

"H-hey." They waved slightly.

"Chrom is busy with fencing club right now, and I'm going to go hang out with Maribelle, so I dunno what you're gonna be doing right now." Coran blinked before thinking a bit. They couldn't really think of what they wanted to do at that moment, but it was quite clear to them that they didn't want to walk home alone.

"I-I guess I'll s-see if I can h-help Chrom out?"

"Okay!" Lissa winked while saluting. "I'll see ya later!" She began to run off.

"W-wait, where's the…" She was gone. "... where's the fencing club…"

They found themself all alone with no idea where to go. Sighing, they began to wander, hoping to try their luck. Not that they felt very lucky at all. Coran thought about where a fencing club could possibly be. It would need to be somewhere with a lot of space, most likely. Possibly the gym? They didn't know where the gym was, however, and groaned. Coran frowned as they realized there was nobody around they could ask for directions. A buzz from their pocket reminded them that they did, in fact, own a phone. The buzz had been notifying them of a text message from Emmeryn, informing them that she wouldn't be home until late that night. Not completely sure if they were supposed to answer her, they instead decided to call Chrom's phone. They didn't know how to do anything else on the phone, but at least they could call people. It took a while for Chrom to actually answer.

"Coran?"

"H-hey, Chrom." They paused, not completely sure how to ask their question.

"What's up?"

"O-oh, I-I was wondering w-where you were… Lissa went to M-Maribelle's house I think and I d-don't wanna w-walk home alone…"

"I'm taking care of fencing club right now."

"I-I know, I was j-just wondering if I could h-help out, m-maybe…" There was a pause before Chrom responded.

"I'm in the gym." Before Coran could ask where that was, Chrom provided an answer. "It's right by the main entrance. I'll come out and get you when you get there."

"O-okay…"

Chrom hung up at Coran's confirmation, and the amnesiac thought they heard him talking to someone else before the line went dead. They wondered who else was there with their adopted brother. As they began walking to the gym, they wondered how their new family really thought of them. Did they just see them as the weird person they had to be nice to or did they actually enjoy spending time with them?

It didn't take long for them to reach the main entrance, and Chrom seemed to be waiting for them. After greeting each other, they went to the gym, and Coran glanced around, looking for anybody else who might have been there. They didn't see anybody, and shrugged, mildly confused. Several moments passed as Chrom checked his phone. Eventually, Coran asked if there was anything they could help with.

"If you could help Robin check over the equipment that would make things go faster. I'm trying to get word out that the first meeting is tomorrow." Coran nodded, looking around again but not finding the Plegian boy.

"Umm, where is he?"

"He should be right through that door."

Chrom pointed at a door nearby, and Coran nodded before heading over. The first thing they saw upon entering the small, dimly lit supply room was a large pile of swords. A shuffling sound could be heard nearby, and Robin came around the corner, carrying other fencing-related things. After dumping them on the floor, Robin realized the increased lighting in the room was due to the door being opened. Coran waved a little awkwardly upon making eye contact with the boy.

"Coran?"

"Hey, R-Robin. I didn't know you were in f-fencing club." Robin adjusted his glasses, looking away in what Coran would almost call embarrassment.

"I'm not. I just think your brother is cute." Coran blinked in surprise. "D-don't give me that look!"

"W-what look?"

"Never mind, I don't even know why I told you that…" Coran felt bad, though they didn't know what was wrong.

"S-sorry…" They mumbled, and it was Robin's turn to feel bad.

"No, no, it's my fault for not filtering myself. I was being stupid."

"I-I don't think you're stupid…" Coran thought back to the study session they had when they first met Robin. "You're a lot smarter than m-me at least…"

"Hey, I wasn't trying to make you feel bad. Let's just pretend I didn't start this conversation, okay?"

"Okay…"

Coran mumbled before smiling a little at the Plegian boy. Robin began sorting the equipment into different piles, explaining what they were looking for. Coran quickly got the hang of it, and soon they were sorting the equipment with celerity. It didn't take them very long to finish, and after telling Chrom the details, the two of them went to sit in the bleachers. Robin was the first one to speak.

"You have amnesia, right?" Coran nodded. "Am I correct in assuming the hoodie you own is from before you lost your memories?"

"Y-yeah, how could you tell?"

"Well, it has the Mark of Grima on it. The Esaltare family has always been against the Grimleal." Coran frowned.

"I-I didn't know that…"

"Most people outside of Plegia don't know what the Mark of Grima looks like, so I'm not surprised." Robin patted Coran on the back. "It makes me wonder where you got the hoodie. Do you think you could be from Plegia?"

"I n-never thought about that…" They really hoped they weren't, though they weren't sure why. The amnesiac crossed their arms.

"Let me see your hand." Coran looked at Robin in confusion. "Your right hand. I think I saw something."

Coran obliged, albeit reluctantly, and Robin began examining their hand. The white haired boy frowned, running his thumb over the back of Coran's hand. They didn't say anything, mildly confused by Robin's actions. Robin adjusted his glasses, eyebrows drawn together in thought. After a long stretch of silence, he spoke, quite slowly.

"You… have a scar."

Coran's shoulders tensed, and they looked down at their hand. Staring back up at them were the six eyes of Grima. They pulled away from Robin, biting their lip as they covered the eyes with their other hand. The Mark of Grima was burned into their flesh, and though they hadn't noticed until Robin pointed it out, they felt as if it were some dark secret they had always been hiding. This wasn't something they wanted to tell Emmeryn about.

"I'm sorry." Robin frowned. "I'm just making you feel even worse, aren't I." Coran didn't respond, and the next thing Robin said was mumbled to himself. "This is why you don't have friends, Robin…"

"..." Coran looked at him, frowning. "Hey, it's… I'm g-glad I know now… It's b-better than s-staying in the d-dark…" Robin nodded slightly, and Coran thought they saw his face brighten.

"Let's talk about fun stuff, like, umm, I dunno…" Robin thought for a bit. "People."

"People?"

"Yeah, like cute people."

"Like C-Chrom?" Robin puffed out his cheeks and looked away, causing Coran to giggle.

"Actually, let's not talk about cute people."

"Why n-not?"

"Because…" Robin tried to think of a good excuse. "B-because I don't wanna hear you talking about Sharma!"

"Sharma?" It took Coran a moment to remember who Robin was referring to, and soon their cheeks were flushed in embarrassment. "I-I don't think H-Henry is c-cute!"

"Sure you don't." Coran could almost feel the sarcasm dripping from his words as he extended the 'u' in 'sure'.

"W-why does everyone t-tease me about Henry?" They pouted, and Robin laughed.

"Because you make cute faces when we do." Coran only frowned more as Robin lightly pinched their reddening cheeks, grinning playfully.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"C-Chrom!" Robin immediately let go of Coran's cheeks, looking embarrassed.

"My hero…" Coran mumbled. Chrom laughed in response.

"Well, thank you for dealing with inventory. All that's left now is for people to actually show up to the club after school tomorrow."

"Oh, I think I can get my sister to come. She's never been in an actual fencing club, but she's always wanted to be. Back in Plegia she kept trying to start one, but the teachers wouldn't let her because they think sword-fighting is useless."

"Well, that's great! I'll have at least two people who aren't me." Robin smiled.

"I'd try and get more people to come, but I don't really have any friends here…" Chrom placed a firm hand on Robin's shoulder.

"It's alright. I'm glad you can at least get your sister to come."

"Yeah." If Coran didn't know better, they'd say Robin looked uncomfortable. But they did know better, and an amused smile made its way onto their face.

"Anyways." Chrom let his arm fall as he turned to look at Coran. "I'm all finished here. We can go home now." Coran nodded, glancing at Robin.

"Hey, R-Robin, do you wanna walk h-home with us?" The Plegian boy looked shocked by the invitation.

"I-I mean, if it's fine with you! Though, I don't suppose you'd have invited me if it wasn't." Robin smiled at the two of them. "Remind me what street you live on?"

"Altea Drive."

Coran was slightly surprised and a little offended that Chrom had answered the question. When Henry had asked the same thing not even a week ago, Chrom had refused to give him the information. The amnesiac really wished their adopted brother didn't dislike Henry so much. Knowing it was just because he was friendly and a little bit odd didn't help at all, as Coran didn't think that those were reasonable things to dislike someone for. Then again, Robin was someone who had been to the house before, so the situation wasn't exactly the same.

"Oh, I remember where that is. Let me just get my bag and I'll be ready." Robin left to do that, and in his momentary absence, Chrom spoke up.

"You two seem close." His look was a little suspicious and almost hopeful.

"He's like an awkward, insecure big brother." Coran frowned at Chrom's disappointed look. "C-Chrom, please t-try to g-get over your grudge against H-Henry… He's my f-friend."

"I don't trust him. He's suspicious."

"Who are we talking about?" Robin had come back, and was looking down at his phone as he texted someone.

"N-nobody important…" Coran knew they would lose this argument (was it an argument?) if Robin joined, so they began to walk to the exit. "Let's g-go, I want to get h-home…"

Robin looked up, saw Coran walking away, glanced at Chrom, and shrugged. The three of them began to walk in silence, as Coran didn't really want to talk, Chrom was distracted, and Robin was too shy to talk to the bluenette. Coran took their phone out, unlocking it and reading their messages. Emmeryn had texted them again, requesting that they tell her when they got home. After figuring out how to text, they responded with a quick 'Okay.' before putting their phone in their bag.

Their mind was on the Mark of Grima burned into their hand, and they wondered how they hadn't noticed it before. Did Henry know about it? They wouldn't put it past him to see something like that and not say a thing. As much as Coran wanted to trust him, they couldn't deny that there was something weird going on with the pale boy. It was a strange, unfixable dilemma at the moment. They could only hope things would make more sense soon.

Coran looked back at Chrom and Robin. The two of them seemed to be having a conversation about fencing. Chrom was explaining the three different types of sword, while Robin listened attentively. They seemed to be enjoying their conversation, and though Coran felt left out, they were glad they invited Robin to walk with them. He looked happy, and Coran remembered earlier when he said he had no friends. That wouldn't be true anymore, would it? Now he had Chrom, Coran, and the rest of them after all!

Coran smiled to themself, looking up at the clear sky. There was no sign of the strange, dark clouds from the day before, yet they found themself thinking back anyways. A mysterious figure claiming the name of 'Marth' had appeared from a magic circle in the sky, boasting sword-fighting abilities of incredible skill. He had dashed in to save Lissa and pushed back the Risen with ease, almost as though he had been fighting them his entire life. Afterwards, he left them with a strange warning of unfortunate events to come before disappearing. The smile left Coran's face, only to be replaced by a frown.

They couldn't help but wonder who this 'Marth' person really was. He (if 'he' was even male) couldn't actually be the heroic king of old. If he somehow was, how would he know of future events? It was more likely that he had come from the future in that case, and needed a cover for his identity. But why choose such an well known hero for your alias? Coran suddenly recalled the sword he had, and their frown only deepened.

At the time they hadn't realized it, but now that they thought back, it was clearly the legendary Falchion. Where had he gotten such an amazing sword? And how was he able to use it? All text relating to the Falchion claimed it to be usable only by descendants of the ancient king, Anri's bloodline. His hair matched Chrom's shade perfectly, and Coran began to wonder how far into the future he had come from, if he was indeed from the future. Their musings were interrupted by a tap on the shoulder from Chrom, just after they decided the idea of time travel was silly and impossible. Coran turned around to look at their brother.

"You were so lost in thought you walked right by the house." Chrom looked mildly amused while Robin stifled his giggles behind him. Coran blushed.

"O-oh, haha, whoops…"

They rubbed the back of their head and looked to their right, noticing that they had indeed walked past the house. The three of them walked into the building, and Coran took their phone out to text Emmeryn that they were home. They took a moment to remember that Lissa was at Maribelle's house before looking back at Chrom and Robin. Robin was following Chrom to the living room, and Coran decided to leave them be. Maybe Robin's crush would amount to something? Coran didn't know, but they found themself rooting for him. They walked up to their room, planning on reading some books, but upon opening their door, they received a surprise.

"Henry?"

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_**Word Count: 2,584**_

**Ch16 aka Henry is missing and Robin is gay.**

**I haven't written anything for this fic in forever bc I've been busy with my Harry Potter fanfic whops! I still have up to Chapter 19 written for AC, but I really need to write more before I run out of stuff to post on Saturdays!**

**Next time: Henry is confusing, Plegia is messed up, and Coran/Henry are cute.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N - It has been SUCH a long time, and I am SO sorry for that! Please stick around for the A/N at the end, as it relates to something important to my writing/update schedule in the future.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Henry?"

Coran received no response from the boy on their bed. Henry seemed to have been wearing the exact same clothes from the day before, but as they glanced down at his legs, they noticed what looked like scrapes. In fact, Henry seemed to be covered in scrapes and bruises. More than a little concerned, Coran approached the bed. They repeated his name, but the pale boy didn't stir. Quiet whimpering came from him, and Coran's brows furrowed. The smaller teen got closer, still observing the injuries before finally looking at his face. A small gasp escaped their lips as they realized something.

Henry was likely having a nightmare.

The Plegian boy was passed out, for whatever reason, and Coran realized that despite the fact that he was shaking violently, he kept the unnatural smile on his face. It was odd for someone to keep smiling when they slept, even more so when they were having a nightmare. He looked to be in pain, but Coran had a strange feeling it had nothing to do with his injuries. Beads of sweat were on his face, and Coran cautiously reached a hand out to wipe them away. As they were about to pull the appendage away, a pale, cold hand gripped their own. Coran was sure Henry was still asleep, and they could feel him shaking. The nonbinary teen sat on the edge of the bed, letting the unconscious Henry clutch their hand like a lifeline. He seemed to be saying things under his breath, but Coran couldn't hear a single word of it. They pushed the hair out of his face, feeling more uneasy the longer Henry stayed asleep.

Coran's mind was nearly blank for once, and they found only one thought in their head. Why had Henry chosen to go to them? He could have gone to his own house, or any other friend's house, so why did he go to Coran's room? They couldn't think of the answer, and their free hand began running its fingers through his hair. It was really quite soft, despite being sweaty in some parts. Coran noticed that the longer they did that, the more peaceful Henry's face looked, his eyebrows relaxing. They weren't sure how much time had passed, but they felt they had been sitting there for hours before Henry stirred. It was likely an exaggeration, but they weren't too concerned with that.

Henry awoke, immediately sitting up with his eyes wide open. Coran, startled by the motion, didn't get the chance to see his eyes before he squeezed them shut, drawing his knees up to his chest. He rocked himself back and forth for a short while, laughing quietly before realizing where he was and turning his head to face Coran. They stayed quiet as they stared at his face, and noticed that his smile looked incredibly strained. He didn't say anything, and looked away soon after, wiping what almost looked like tears off of his face. Coran wasn't sure what to do, but they felt the need to say something.

"... What h-happened?"

Henry hid his face in his hands, shoulders shaking. Upon receiving no response, Coran frowned, choosing a different tactic. They hugged the pale boy, who hesitated before wrapping his arms around the smaller of the two. Coran made a motion to lie down, and Henry followed, his grip around the amnesiac tight. He didn't seem like he would ever let go, and Coran found that they didn't mind as they absentmindedly played with his hair. They trusted Henry to speak whenever he felt comfortable, and if he didn't want to talk, well… Coran didn't want to force him to talk, but something was honestly terribly wrong with the boy, and they couldn't stand seeing him weak like this. They hoped he would tell them what was wrong.

Henry wasn't shaking anymore, but he still didn't say anything. Neither of them said anything for a long while, and Coran wondered whether the pale boy resting his head on their chest was falling back asleep. It was nice that Henry had decided to go to Coran of all people. It made them feel special, but they were still extremely confused and concerned. They didn't speak for a long while, but eventually Coran realized Henry wasn't going to say anything to them.

"What happened?" They repeated.

"I was walking around at night. Don't remember the rest but when I woke up I was here!" If his voice sounded fake before, Coran didn't know what this was. "You're comfy~" He giggled quietly, but a hiccup interrupted him, and Coran heard him sniffle before wiping his nose.

"Henry…"

"I must look pretty terrible, haha! Wonder where these ouchies came from? Oooooooh, do you think I got in a fight? Maybe the other guys went splat!" He laughed, and Coran frowned.

"D-don't talk l-like that…"

Coran began to sit up, and Henry shifted so his head was in the other's lap. The brunette sighed, running their fingers through his hair. It really was very soft, and Coran found that it somehow had no tangles. The same certainly wasn't true for Coran, and they suddenly felt the need to shower and detangle their hair. Henry probably needed one as well, and Coran looked down at the snowy head in their lap.

He was facing the wall across from the bed, so Coran couldn't see his face. They wondered what was going on inside that head of his, and frowned. Coran didn't know anything about him except that he was from Plegia and went to a specific school. How had he come to Ylisse in the first place? And what happened to his birth parents? They took a strange sort of comfort in the fact that they knew more about Henry than themself, but that really wasn't saying much. Coran sighed, trying to take their mind off of things.

"I-I'm going to t-take a shower. You sh-should too…" They mumbled, trying to establish some sense of normalcy.

"Oh yeah, I must stink."

Henry sat up, stretching in a slightly cat-like manner before getting off of the bed. Coran stood as well, walking to their closet. After picking some pajamas out, they looked at Henry, who was still wearing his old clothes. Coran frowned, looking at their own closet. It looked like they were too short for any of their clothes to fit him, but they didn't want to ask Chrom. Lissa wasn't tall either, and probably wouldn't want to share her clothes anyways. That only left Emmeryn, and Coran was reluctant to call and ask such an odd favour, but they didn't want Henry to wear the same clothes. His were dirty and sported tears and holes that hadn't been there the previous day. Coran turned to face Henry.

"Are… Are you going to s-spend the n-night?

"Sure!"

Henry clapped his hands together, and Coran nodded in response. They weren't actually sure if he was allowed to spend the night, but they didn't want him to walk home alone. The last time that happened, he mysteriously disappeared for a day before showing up in their room covered in scrapes and bruises. It took them a moment to find their phone in their bag, and when they did they fumbled around a bit before dialing Emmeryn's phone number. They were mildly surprised when she picked up.

"Hello?"

"H-hey, Emmeryn! Umm, H-Henry showed up and I-I was w-wondering if there were any c-clothes he could wear…" It was an odd request. "N-nothing of m-mine would fit him…"

"Is he planning on spending the night?"

"W-well, I was h-hoping he could…"

"It's alright, I was just wondering. He can borrow anything of mine. The pajamas are in the dresser. I would stay and talk more, but I have to meet with a client soon."

"O-okay…"

"I love you, Coran. Stay safe." Emmeryn made a kissing sound over the phone, and Coran blushed at being shown the same sisterly affection Chrom and Lissa received.

"L-love you too. Bye, Emm…"

Coran hung up, asking Henry to follow them before walking to Emmeryn's room across the hall. The pale boy followed without question, humming a tune Coran felt was oddly familiar. It didn't sound Ylissean, so they wondered if it was a Plegian tune. They shrugged it off, feeling odd about letting Henry go through Emmeryn's clothes. After a bit, Henry held out an outfit Coran thought would suit him much better than the kind woman it belonged to.

"... Wow."

It was a pair of rather short, silk pajama shorts, and lace-hemmed tank top that Coran could almost see through. They were both white, and Coran wondered if Henry would look like a ghost. Their gaze flicked down to his legs, and they decided that they didn't mind the outfit before making their way to their bathroom. Coran turned the water on in the shower, and was about to start stripping before they saw Henry standing there. The amnesiac blushed slightly.

"H-Henry, what are you d-doing in here?" He tilted his head.

"I thought we were gonna take a shower? Or did you change your mind?"

"I-I-I didn't m-mean t-together!" Henry frowned.

"Why not? It wastes less water and I can wash your back!" He mimicked the act.

Coran noted that Henry seemed like a very tall child with innocent intentions before sighing and letting him have his way. They doubted he would do anything bad, after all. The two of them stood under the warm water and Henry took it upon himself to wash Coran's hair. As promised, he washed their back, and Coran returned the favour despite feeling a little awkward. In the end the most 'inappropriate' thing Henry did was tell a bad joke. Coran appreciated the joke, despite the fact that it wasn't funny. They thought he almost looked genuinely happy upon hearing their giggle.

Neither of them said anything about the scars both of them had, though Coran naturally had questions. Where did Henry even get those scars? It was another one of those mysterious things Coran knew they wouldn't get an answer to if they asked. The two of them got out of the shower, drying themselves. Coran's pajamas were just purple sweatpants and a black, long sleeved shirt. Upon looking at Henry, they blushed a little, quickly averting their gaze.

His legs were quite nice, for someone who looked almost like a ghost. At Henry's curious gaze, Coran shook their head, wondering why they were so distracted. They went to Coran's room, and Henry asked them what they wanted to do. Blinking in surprise at the question, Coran looked over at the bookshelf in their room. It was very slowly filling with books, and Coran had taken a liking to cheesy books about friendship and family. They responded somewhat nervously, even though they knew they had nothing to be nervous about.

"I-I kind of w-wanted to read…"

"Read to me!" Henry flopped onto the bed face-first before rolling over to be on his back and sitting up. Coran giggled.

"C-can we maybe e-eat first?" They felt their stomach growling.

Henry nodded enthusiastically before grabbing Coran's hand and practically dragging them to the kitchen. He immediately began to grab ingredients that made little to no sense in relation to each other, but Coran didn't question his methods. No, they wouldn't do that until something besides the stove lit on fire. Whatever he was doing seemed to smell good, so Coran did the little they could and set the table. Henry seemed to be humming again, and Coran smiled to themself. Everything was peaceful and relaxing until Chrom walked in.

"... What is he doing here, and what is he wearing?" He didn't sound happy, but Henry only greeted him with a laugh and a salute.

"I'm spending the night, so I thought I'd cook! Nothing beats sickness away like a full stomach! That's what sis's mom always says, at least. I dunno if that's true or not. Who wants to see how fast I get sick if I stop eating?"

"Me." A flat voice came from behind Chrom, and Coran noticed an irritated Robin. Henry didn't seem to detect the negativity directed at him as he turned back to his cooking, but Coran thought they saw his shoulders tense slightly.

"That makes two of us, at least, nyahaha!" Coran frowned, and Chrom spoke again before an argument broke out between the white-haired Plegians.

"When did he get in here? And who said he could spend the night, because it wasn't me."

"Oh, I got here a while back. Dunno when though, 'cuz I can't remember what happened to me last night!" Henry paused. "Do you think there was blood?" Nobody answered him, as Coran decided to respond to Chrom's second question.

"Emmeryn s-said it was o-okay… Sh-she even let him b-borrow her clothes…"

"Wait." Chrom looked at the scandalously short shorts. "Those are Emm's?"

"I think they look c-cute…" Coran mumbled, kind of hoping nobody would hear them. Thankfully, nobody did.

Henry was busy cooking, and looking at the amount of food there was, it would be more than enough for all four of them. Partially to avoid saying anything embarrassing about the state of Henry's dress, Coran went to get two more plates. Before long, Henry had finished preparing the meal and was serving generous portions onto everyone's plate. Robin looked conflicted for reasons Coran didn't know, and Chrom looked ready to refuse the food. Henry sat down at the table, and Coran followed, smiling at the tune Henry was humming. He had been humming it a lot, now that they thought about it.

Disregarding this observation, Coran began to eat, immediately realizing that it was one of the best meals they'd ever had since they woke up in the hospital. Not that they'd had too many meals. Upon seeing Coran's satisfied face, Chrom and Robin gave up on their urge to refuse the food, sitting down at the table with the other two. Robin seemed entirely unsurprised at the quality of the food. Chrom, on the other hand, almost couldn't believe it was Henry who cooked the meal.

"Where did you learn to cook?"

"Hmm, at home at first, then at school. If I cooked really good, my parents would let me sleep in my room instead of the basement!" He laughed, causing Coran to frown. What kind of life had Henry lived before he got to Ylisse? It didn't sound like a good one.

"Plus, at PAMI, the lower class students would take turn cooking for the rest of the school. If your meal didn't turn out perfect, they would throw you in a room full of rats." Robin shrugged. "At least, those were the stories I heard. I never had to cook because I was there on a scholarship. They put me in the upper class." Chrom looked disgusted, but Coran was the one to speak.

"Upper class? Lower class?"

"Everyone in the upper class is super good at magic and their parents love them so the school doesn't really punish them. Lower class is for people who got into trouble a lot. It's usually where parents send their kids to rot, nyahaha!" Henry's laugh was as empty as it always was. "If you're in the lower class you get punished for everything. I remember this one time, I brought a Goetia tome to my Light magic class. The teacher freaked, threw me out the window with some crazy advanced spell I'd never heard of!" He laughed again, and Coran was concerned. Hearing about the school made them understand why he had so many scars. "In the end, my punishment was to clean out the toxic room in the dungeons with nothing but an old rag."

"Toxic room?" Chrom decided to involve himself in the conversation, and it was Robin who responded.

"It's a room full of, well, toxic gunk. It's from the rotting dragon corpse stored in there or something, and the air isn't safe to breath. A lot of people sent to clean it never come back, and that only adds to the filth in the room."

"... And I thought Plegia was messed up before…"

"Oh, it was fun, though! Have you ever seen a dragon up close? Granted, this one probably smelled really bad, but I was kinda sick so I couldn't smell anything. Or feel my toes. Or the rest of my body. Hey, do you think someone cursed me?"

"Yes." Robin was the only one out of the group who looked particularly grumpy.

"Hmm, those were good times~"

"I-I don't think I would l-like going to that s-school…"

"Aww, you'd have nothing to worry about. I doubt you would ever get in trouble, plus you'd probably be in the Upper class! You're super good at magic." Coran blushed slightly at the praise, and avoided acknowledging it.

"W-wait, why were you in the L-Lower class? Aren't you r-really good at magic?"

"Nah, only Dark magic. They kept tryna get me to call it 'Elder' magic, but that's silly." There was a pause. "Besides, Lower class is where your parents abandon you."

Nobody responded to this, and the uneasy silence was only interrupted by the sound of silverware against their plates. It was clear to Coran that Henry was speaking from personal experience, and the more they learned about his past, the more they worried for him. Chrom and Robin looked increasingly uncomfortable, but Henry seemed not to have a care in the world.

The minutes almost seemed to drag on as they ate, and Robin was the first to excuse themself. Chrom got up as well, and Robin followed him to the kitchen to put his plate in the sink. The two of them left, likely going back to the living room. Coran thought they could hear the sounds of a fighting game before telling Henry they were finished eating. He nodded, and they both decided to wash the dishes before going up to Coran's room.

"Are you still gonna read to me?" The pale boy made himself comfortable, and Coran glanced over at him before turning their attention to the bookshelf.

"I-I mean, y-you probably d-don't want to l-listen to me st-stumble all over the words…" Coran felt a little hesitant, mostly because of their speech impediment. They wondered when it developed?

"But I like your voice." His smile widened. "Even your stutter is kinda cute!"

Coran smiled shyly, and they felt their cheeks warm. Glad that he couldn't see their face, Coran kept their gaze on the bookshelf, settling on a book about a boy and his dragon. They settled down on the bed with Henry, who immediately hugged them like a stuffed animal he was quite fond of. The brunette smiled and began to read out loud, possibly messing up more than usual. They didn't care, though, because they felt warm and happy.

When Emmeryn came home, she found them fast asleep in each other's arms, book long discarded.

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_**Word Count: 3,178**_

**Ch17 aka Henry is confusing, Plegia is messed up, and Henry/Coran are cute.**

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!**

**I am going to be updating/posting _at least_ one fanfic _every day_ until August 12th!**

**This doesn't mean that AC will be updating every day, as I've returned the update schedule to one chapter every Saturday. In addition to this, I'm going to be starting a series called _Definitely Better_, which will detail Coran's life if they weren't just a shoe-in Robin (as they are in this fic). DB will update on Saturdays as well (the first chapter should be up in an hour or so), but these are obviously not my only two fics!**

**If you're interested, please check out my profile page. I have short descriptions for everything I'm going to be posting, and if you'd like to ask me anything, please do so in a PM. In addition to the short summaries, I'll have the update dates.**

**The fandoms I'll be posting are: Fire Emblem Awakening (3 multi-chaptered fics), Fire Emblem Fates (1 multi chapter, 3 series of separate AUs with several standalone oneshots), How to Train Your Dragon (1 multi-chapter), and Harry Potter (1 multi-chapter)**

**Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! More details are on my profile, and again, TALK to me if you want to know more!**

**Next Saturday: Coran eats lunch with Plegians, and fencing club is important.**


	18. Chapter 18

Coran woke up with a slim pair of arms wrapped around them. They looked in front of them, blinking the sleep out of their eyes before seeing the peaceful, smiling face of Henry. He looked genuinely happy, and Coran smiled back at him, not sure whether or not he was awake. Henry leaned over to kiss Coran on the forehead, and Coran giggled before shyly giving him a peck on the cheek. Henry's eyebrows rose, and pink dusted his cheeks. Satisfied that they had made him blush, Coran began laughing. The other joined in, and soon they were both giggling messes. They didn't get up until Emmeryn knocked on the door.

"Coran, Henry, wake up. I'm headed to work."

"Yessir!" Henry called out, sitting up and somewhat reluctantly unlatching himself from Coran.

He got up, and Coran found their eyes drawn to his legs for two reasons. One reason was that, well, they were really nice legs. The more important reason was that they, along with the rest of his body, were still covered in scrapes and bruises. It didn't look very good, and Coran frowned. At Henry's curious look, they told him.

"Y-you're covered i-in ouchies…" They mumbled, saying 'ouchies' mainly because it was Henry they were talking to.

"Huh, yeah, you're right. Oh well!" Coran shook their head.

"I-I'm gonna go l-look for Lissa's Heal staff…" Henry nodded.

"And I.m gonna look for clothes!"

The two separated, and the first place Coran thought to look was Lissa's room. Hesitating slightly, they turned the knob. Her room was mainly yellow, but there were hints of just about every colour in various places. The staff was propped up against the wall, and Coran was thankful that she didn't take it to Maribelle's house. They went to Emmeryn's room and found Henry looking through her closet.

"H-Henry, I f-found the staff."

"Cool!"

Coran looked down, suddenly wondering what made them think they knew how to use a staff. Holding it in their hands, they felt a similar energy to the Shine tome they had used to take out Risen on the first day of school. Shaking their head to dispel those memories, Coran focussed on the task in front of them. Closing their eyes, they followed an instinct they had. They heard Henry let out a wow, causing Coran to open their eyes, seeing a green light emanating from the staff. Henry's injuries began to fade away, and when they were gone, both of them smiled.

The brunette went back to Lissa's room to return her staff before going to their own to get changed. When they finished and turned around, they saw Henry wearing a black pencil skirt paired with a white blouse. It was simple, boring, and it didn't really suit him, but Coran didn't say anything. The two of them were about to leave for school when they saw Robin walk down the stairs.

"Hey, it's the weird bird guy!" Robin looked surprised by the greeting, but his face quickly turned to one of annoyance.

"Oh. You're still here." His voice was cold as he walked past them and into the kitchen.

Coran tugged at Henry's sleeve, saying they probably shouldn't wait for him. They liked Robin, and would definitely like to be better friends with him, but it was clear that wouldn't happen with Henry around. Walking to school was rather uneventful, and when they got there it was quite close to class time. Now that everyone had been to their classes twice, and the syllabi were all turned in, actual learning was going to start happening.

Class started off immediately, the Magic Theory teacher reviewing the information they should already know. Time seemed to fly by and before they knew it, Coran was on their way to their Light magic class. They took their usual seat by Lissa and their teacher began introducing everybody to the basics of using Light magic. Coran yawned, feeling that they already knew everything he was teaching them. Upon hearing that Shine was a D rank tome, they raised their hand.

"Er, yes, mister..?" Coran frowned at the assumed gender, but Lissa spoke on their behalf.

"Hey, they aren't a 'mister'!" Before she could say more or have the teacher respond, Coran decided to speak.

"M-my name is C-Coran. I was j-just going t-to say I've u-used a Shine t-tome before, and it w-worked really well…"

"... Well, are you sure it wasn't a fluke?" Coran frowned.

"I-I'm sure."

"Remember how that crazy stuff happened in the park? With the creepy zombie guys? Coran and I were there and they used Shine a bunch on the Risen! They were soooo cool!" Coran blushed at Lissa's enthusiasm towards their magic skill.

"If that's the case, I'll see if we can get you to take the placement exam for Magical Application. As you may know, we usually don't let new students take it unless they get an A rank in Theory." Coran nodded. "For now, just bear with us, Coran."

After receiving another nod from the nonbinary teen, their teacher continued his lesson. The rest of class passed uneventfully, though it seemed to pass slower than Theory. Coran decided that time was relative before the bell rang for lunch. Seeing Robin walking with his sister and who Coran thought to be Tharja, they excused themself to try and talk to them. Well, it was more like they went up to Robin and tapped him on the shoulder, hoping to be noticed.

The Plegian boy turned to face Coran with annoyed expression. His face quickly turned to a smile upon seeing who it was. Tharja mumbled a quiet greeting before commenting on the lack of Henry. Robin invited Coran to eat lunch with them before they could respond to Tharja, and the four of them went off to secure a table. It was interesting to note that Tharja hadn't left Reflet's side in the time Coran had seen her. Robin left to go through the lunch line as Tharja pulled out two meals. She handed the larger one to Reflet, who smiled and accepted before speaking to Coran, who was taking out a lunch Henry had put together for them.

"Your name is Coran?" They nodded while picking through a fruit salad. It seemed to have all the fruit except blackberries, which Coran was oddly satisfied with. "I'm Reflet, Robin's sister. How did you meet him, anyways? He hasn't made any friends since he met Tharja."

"O-oh, he was Ch-Chrom's tutor."

"Chrom?"

"H-he's captain of the f-fencing club here. R-Robin said he was g-going to tell you."

"You guys have a fencing club? I am so there!"

"I'll watch." Coran had almost forgotten about Tharja, and the way she acted around Reflet gave them a feeling she wouldn't go to see the actual fencing.

"W-well Chrom's going to be h-happy for more people at least." Reflet smiled at them.

"Hey, Coran, who made your lunch?" Tharja questioned, out of the blue.

"Huh? O-oh, it was H-Henry."

"So that's where he went yesterday…" At Coran's curious look, Tharja continued. "He went missing again yesterday. I just told my parents he spent the night at your house, so I'm glad I was right."

Robin came back, and they dropped that line of conversation. Coran discovered several brownies and wondered where Henry had found the time to make them before enjoying them. The rest of lunch passed without much incident other than the Plegian twins teasing each other. It seemed like a natural occurrence, and Coran found themself smiling at the two them. Coran had barely finished their sandwich when the bell rang.

Their last two classes were math and science, respectively. After being momentarily confused, they got the hang of it. Eventually, the bell rang for school to end, and Coran was quite excited to see how Chrom ran fencing club. They made it to the gym without incident, and saw a group that largely consisted of people they knew. Lissa waved at them before returning to her conversation with Maribelle, and Coran turned to see who was there. Chrom was discussing things with Frederick while Robin watched, sitting next to Tharja who was watching Reflet. Reflet was talking to Stahl and Vaike, and upon not seeing the brunette with his more violent counterpart, Coran searched for her. Sully and Panne seemed to be trying to convince Gaius to join the club, and out of the corner of their eye, they spotted Cordelia and Sumia. Several other people were there that Coran didn't recognize, but the only person who was alone was a redheaded girl wearing nearly all red, who was doing something on her phone. Said phone was actually yellow, and not red. It matched the colour of her hoodie pocket and Vans.

Wondering who this was, Coran decided they could found out later. They went to sit by Robin and Tharja in the bleachers. The later of the two quietly told them that Henry had gone home instead of staying to wait for them. Coran shrugged, only feeling mildly disappointed that he hadn't told them anything to suggest he would have left on his own. Not that he was obligated to tell them anything like that. Coran blushed, realizing that they were being clingy. Looking at Tharja dispelled the embarrassment of it, however, as she seemed to be taking choice pictures of Reflet's behind. Glancing over at Robin revealed that he had no more dignity than Tharja, as he was using his phone for the same purpose, though with Chrom. Coran understood completely why Tharja and Robin were friends, and decided to make themself comfortable on the bleachers.

"As you should know, this is fencing club. Now, you're probably wondering why the first meeting is a whole week early." There were several murmurs of curiosity from the members of the club, and the people who weren't there to participate in club activities dispersed, either going to sit in the bleachers or leaving the gym. Panne was one of the former, and Gaius was forced to stay by Sully's side. Chrom cleared his throat before speaking again.

"We have a contest coming up in two weeks. It'll be up north in Regna Ferox, and we need to be at the top of our game. If we win this, we'll receive their aid against the approaching threat of the Risen." A few stares of confusion came from several people.

"Gosh, don't you guys watch the news?" The redhead Coran didn't know the name of spoke up. "Two nights ago, after the first day of school, a strange portal opened up over Ylisstol's Central Park. These freaky abominations fell out of it, and the Royal Council has been calling them Risen because, well… They look and smell like rotting corpses that rose from the dead." Looks of disgust formed on people's faces.

"Thank you." Chrom took over the club again. "Anyways, with Ferox's help we should have a good defense against these monsters. But, they won't help us unless we prove our strength." Coran found it a little odd that they would rely on a small group high schoolers to represent a whole country, but shrugged it off. "Those of you who aren't serious about this, leave now." Several people left, and the only ones there were the people Coran already knew and the redhead.

"Chrom." Frederick said something quietly before receiving a nod from the bluenette. He turned to face the group. "How many of you have never fenced before?" Reflet, Gaius, Cordelia, and Vaike raises their hands. Cordelia seemed somewhat embarrassed that she was one of the newcomers.

"Well, before we get into things, let's all introduce ourselves. I'm Chrom Esaltare, though I think most of you know that." Nods of confirmation followed. "I specialize in the sabre, and it's saved my life before." Coran recalled the first night of school.

"My name is Frederick Ritter, the co-captain. I'm adept at every type of blade, though I stick with épée for the most part." The next person to speak was the stranger.

"Hey, there! My name's Anna Laurens, and I like to call myself the co-co-captain."

"She isn't." Anna pouted.

"Fred-bear is huge spoilsport, this has been a PSA." The redhead glared at him momentarily before continuing on. "Anyways, you won't find any gal better at foil-fighting than me! As co-co-captain-" Frederick grunted, but Anna ignored him. "Senior, and Treasurer, I'm pretty important. If you're ever in the market for some good stuff, I'm your girl." Coran noticed that her finger never left its spot on her chin.

"Now, for the rest of you, if you'd introduce just yourselves, starting with Stahl." Chrom pointed at the green-clad individual.

"Oh, who, me?" Chrom nodded. "Well, I'm Stahl Werner. I'm pretty good at all three types, so I guess I'll just take whatever we have the least of."

"Reflet Paige. Most of you don't really know me, since I started here this year, but I used to live in Plegia. I hated it there, and I'm so glad we moved." She flipped one of her pigtails. "Anyways, I've never been in a fencing club because my old school didn't have one, but I hope I don't drag you guys down."

"Finally! Teach is at your service, class is now in session!" Reflet smacked him in the back of the head. "Jeeze, lady, let a guy have some fun." At her sarcastic (and slightly sadistic) laugh, Vaike introduced himself properly. "The name's Vaike Olson. I'm only here to beat Chrom!"

"And that means he's a sabre, right?" Reflet asked, recalling that matches were always between the same sword type. She received a nod from most people in the group, and smiled in satisfaction that she knew what she was talking about.

"Hello, I'm Cordelia Amoretto. I'm new to this club, like Reflet, but that's only because I didn't have time for it last year. It only met after school on Mondays, and that conflicted with the Marching schedule for the first semester." She smiled. "Now that I'm here, I'm ready to try my hardest."

"I'm Sully Fernández. I've gotten pretty good at fencing, but to be honest, I'm better at jousting. Either way, I'd say I'm pretty good at épée and sabre. Don't bring a foil sword near me, though. Stuff's for chumps."

"Hey!" Anna sounded offended. "That's swordist!" Sully rolled her eyes before nudging Gaius, albeit a little harshly.

"Ow. I'm Gaius and Sully forced me to come." She smacked him in the back of the head. "Oh Naga above, save me from this madwoman."

"Oh please, you love me. Now be serious." Gaius groaned dramatically.

"Fine. My name is Gaius Matheson, and Sully thought it'd be cool to have me in Fencing with her." After rolling his eyes, he grumbled. "Don't see why you couldn't make Whiskers join." Aforementioned 'Whiskers' spoke from the bleachers.

"I'm a Taguel. I don't need to know sword fighting."

"Anyways, that's everyone, right?" Everyone nodded. "Frederick, Anna, and I are going to demonstrate the different fencing styles before talking about them in more detail. Newcomers pay close attention. Veterans, this is going to be a refresher for you."

Everyone nodded, and Anna went to fetch six swords; two of each type. Chrom and Frederick took the sabres and explained that they weren't going to fight seriously, as they didn't have any of the fencing gear on. The two proceeded to demonstrate what looked like an orchestrated match where neither of them truly hit each other. Afterwards, they discussed the basics of sabre-style fencing. Next, Frederick and Anna did much of the same, having a demonstration match before talking about fighting with foil swords. The last style they showed was épée, which Frederick demonstrated with Sully as a volunteer. When they finished, Chrom gave the group a moment of thought before speaking.

"I'm going to call out your names, and you're to respond with the style you're interested in. After choosing, you'll divide into groups with Frederick, Anna, and I to talk about it more in-depth and begin to get the basics of using the sword down. Cordelia?"

"I think I'd like to focus on épée. The heavier weight shouldn't be a problem and it'll help me build strength I can use in Marching Band." Frederick had his phone out, likely typing up everyone's weapon of choice in his notes.

"Reflet?" Chrom looked up. "Wait, are you Robin's younger sister?"

"We're twins, so there's really no younger or older." She turned to glare up at her brother, who sniggered and called out.

"Five minutes makes a difference!"

"Ignoring him, I'm curious about all of them, but I'll go with sabre for now." Chrom nodded.

"Vaike, we're just going to put you down for sabre. Sully?"

"Épée. Same for Stahl."

"Okay, last would be… Gaius?" Chrom still looked a little surprised that the lazy ex-thief was actually at fencing club.

"Uhh, foil I guess." Anna cheered, and Sully looked at him in shock.

"Foil is for chumps!"

"Yeah, well we can't just have Anna doing foil. We need more members if we're gonna win this."

"I know this guy named Donnel. He might be able to join." Anna had spoken.

"Well, considering you're our foil expert, I ask that you take the time to recruit him. Make sure you explain the basics of fencing and all that." Chrom glanced around. "Reflet, come with me. Vaike and I will help you with the basics." The Plegian girl nodded, following like he said.

"Gaius, you're my bud!" Anna linked arms with him. "There's no other foil-er except you and me, so we gotta make the most of it!"

"Cordelia, this way. I'll be teaching you, but you can always ask Sully and Stahl if you need help. For now, you two can just practice." Frederick led them to the equipment before they claimed a portion of the gym. "It's rare for épée to outnumber the other two sword types, but I'm glad none-the-less."

"To be honest, I would have probably been foil if Sully didn't want to fight me. That way the groups would have been even and Anna wouldn't have to recruit someone."

Stahl shrugged, getting his equipment on. The appointed instructors began to teach the basics of actual fencing, explaining how the score system and "right of way" worked. It was all quite interesting to watch, and by the end of it, Coran thought it had been quite a productive club meeting.

* * *

**_Word Count: 3,089_**

**Ch18 aka Coran eats lunch with Plegians, and fencing club is important**

**Quick reminder to PLEASE check out my profile's poll/update schedule! I'd love it if you would do so ;v;**

**Next Saturday: the road to Ferox.**


	19. Chapter 19

The next couple of weeks passed with few major events. Donnel and Sumia joined fencing club, both choosing foil. No strange incidents happened with Henry, though Coran found that they didn't get to see him as much as they liked. Part of them suspected it was due to due to the pale Plegian not being not being allowed to sit at their lunch table because of Robin. It occurred to the amnesiac that the people they sat with during lunch were all Plegian. Were they Plegian as well? It wouldn't be unlikely, considering the Grimleal hoodie they were wearing upon waking up without memories. They weren't sure how they felt about that thought anymore.

School and classes passed with multiple interesting lessons, and after taking a Light Magic Application Exam, they managed to get into a D rank class with Maribelle. Only mildly unsatisfied that they didn't do better, they still found joy in the fact that they had a class with Maribelle. Coran felt slightly guilty for leaving Lissa behind, but Maribelle assured them she would find a way to not feel lonely.

Time seemed to be passing in a blur, and soon, Coran found that the fencing tournament in Regna Ferox was only two days away. Ylisstol High's fencing club had been working hard after school every day save for Mondays and Fridays, as they didn't want to interfere with Cordelia's marching band schedule. She protested that they didn't need to accommodate for her, but Chrom insisted, and she gave up on that. Coran, Lissa, Maribelle, Robin, Tharja, Panne, and someone named Jake were in the bleachers, watching the last fencing club meeting.

"Tomorrow we leave for Ferox. I've seen you guys improve so much over the last two weeks, and I'm positive we can win. Veterans, this is the best I've ever seen you. Newcomers, I'm impressed at how fast you've learned," His gaze focussed on Cordelia an Donnel. "How your attitude changed for the better," Gaius laughed slightly, knowing that was directed at him. "and your enthusiasm." Sumia smiled. "We're going to go to Ferox, and we're going to win." The captain looked at his 'army' with a confident grin.

"The captain's pep talk is over, you may disperse." Frederick dismissed them

And disperse they did. Coran stood up with the intention of walking over to Chrom. They quickly decided against this, however, when they saw Robin approach him. Smiling to themself, they decided to talk to someone else, though they weren't sure who to approach. Anna seemed to be pretending to faint into Jake's arms, and Coran briefly wondered if they were dating. It would certainly explain why the strange, purple-haired individual was always at the fencing practices. Cordelia and Sumia were having a pleasant moment they didn't want to interrupt. Donnel had rushed off, saying something about his ma. Frederick was doing something important looking on his laptop. Reflet was laughing at something Stahl said while Tharja looked on, a glint of jealousy in her eyes. Vaike had left soon after Donnel, and Sully, Gaius, and Panne were hanging out. Against their better judgement, they walked over to the trio.

"Yo, it's Stutts." Gaius noticed their somewhat shy approach.

"... Stutts?" Coran questioned what they assumed was a nickname. It seemed Gaius and Sully were quite fond of those.

"Y'know, like Stutters? Stutts sounds better though." Coran blinked, feeling a lump rise in their throat as they remembered why they didn't like Gaius.

"P-p-please d-don't call me th-that, I-I-I r-really d-don't like it w-when p-people t-talk about m-my s-s-speech imp-pediment…" They mumbled, looking down.

"... What?" Coran heard a smack, and they looked up to see Panne glaring at Gaius.

"Coran doesn't appreciate your insensitive nickname, obviously. I'm sorry about him, I'm sure you've realized he can be quite dense sometimes." Coran vaguely observed that Panne was wearing nothing but a small tank-top and what looked to be furry shorts. Something told them that those 'shorts' weren't actually shorts.

"I… i-it's okay…" They mumbled.

"Like hell, it's okay." Sully glared at Gaius before punching him in the arm.

"Hey, ow! Why're both of you gangin up on me?"

"Cuz you were bein a jerk."

"Okay, how was I being a jerk if all I did was give 'em a nickname? I do it for everyone!"

"Think of another nickname. One that doesn't call attention to a speech impediment." Panne ordered, and Gaius seemed to have a realization.

"Shit." He scratched the back of his neck. "Man, I guess that really was a bad name. I wasn't really thinking when I said it… I'll try to think of something else. We cool?" Coran blinked, not used to the slight slang Gaius displayed.

"Umm…" They chewed the inside of their cheek slightly before nodding. "Yes?"

"Sweet. Just let me know if I say something jerk-y, capishe?"

"Capishe?" Gaius seemed to take that as a confirmation instead of a lack of understanding, and Coran stood there in mild confusion.

"I was just asking Panne how good she thought our chances of winning are." Sully changed the subject. "She doesn't have much of an opinion, though. It's not like she'd bother to learn about the sports us man-spawn play."

"O-oh… I-I think you can p-probably make it… Chrom had me w-watch some videos of old t-tournaments, and I think you're r-really good…" They offered a sweet smile, which Sully returned. Even Gaius smirked a little, and Panne's lips curved up as well.

"Thanks for your vote of confidence, kid." Sully patted them on the shoulder.

"Yes. In fact, I think I agree with you. The fencing team can win."

"Today's got me feeling pretty confident. Hey how about Shortie?"

"Umm… m-maybe you could just c-call me by my name?" Gaius frowned, but it was Sully who spoke.

"You don't have a problem with Henry callin you 'Cutie' all the time."

"Th-that's d-d-different!" Coran blushed furiously before hiding their face in their hands. Sully laughed loudly, and Gaius soon joined in, Panne rolling her eyes.

"I bet it is, Shortie." The ginger reached out to ruffle their hair, but Coran quite skillfully dodged. "What?"

"Is Henry the only one allowed to mess with your hair?" Sully seemed like she was teasing again.

"…" Coran blinked, finding the red in their cheeks lessen. Why were they so embarrassed? There was no reason to be. "... Yes. Yes, he is." They proceeded to stick out their tongue in a childish manner before being approached by Lissa.

"Hey, Coran! It's time to go home! What were you guys talking about?"

"Just that Henry seems to be the exception to a lot of Coran-related things."

"He's cute." Coran blurted before covering their mouth and wondering why they said that. Lissa laughed.

"Ha! You finally admit it!" She looked triumphant, and Coran groaned.

The two of them said their goodbyes to the trio before joining Chrom and Frederick and beginning to leave. Frederick walked the Esaltares to their large house before setting off in the direction of his own, and Coran immediately went upstairs to set their bag down in the closet. They blinked, noticing the dress Emmeryn had bought them when she took them shopping for the first time. Feeling the material, they found it odd that they hadn't even tried it on in the three weeks they had owned it. Acting on a whim, they found themself stripping and slipping into the dress. It was really quite a nice dress, and they found themself smiling as they looked down at it. There wasn't a mirror to view it at a proper angle, but they didn't really mind, as all previous encounters with mirrors hadn't ended well. They didn't notice their door opening until they turned and found themself face-to-face with Chrom.

"Ahh! C-Chrom!" They felt their face burn and had the sudden urge to hide, though they forced themself to stay put.

"You look-" Terrible. Wrong. Awful. "- great." Coran blinked, shoving their initial negative thoughts away and wondering where they came from. This was Chrom, their kind older brother who would never say those words aloud even if he thought them to be true. He would also never think such a thing if he bothered to smile and compliment them. They found themself smiling slightly in return, though they were still embarrassed.

"Th-thank you…" They mumbled, rubbing their arms self-consciously. Had Chrom noticed the old scars?

"You're welcome. Anyways, sorry I didn't knock, I just came up to tell you that dinner is ready. Well, if you can call frozen pizza 'dinner' that is." He laughed, and Coran found themself responding in kind.

"O-okay, I'll be r-right down, just l-let me change f-first."

"Yeah, you should change into some pajamas. It's getting kind of late."

Coran blinked, nodding before finding a simple set of pajamas. As they changed, they continued to wonder if Chrom had seen the scars on their arms. They were a little hard to see on the pale skin, but they were still noticeable. A headshake cleared their thoughts before they left their room, slipping their phone into the pocket of their Grima hoodie. They found an odd sort of comfort in the hoodie, though they couldn't stand the Grimleal. It was a hoodie of mixed feelings. Downstairs, they chose three slices of cheese pizza before following Chrom to the living room. It seemed Lissa had turned the couch into a messy-yet-comfortable arrangement of pillows and blankets and was browsing Netflix, half a pizza crust sticking out of her mouth. After some moments of fumbling around and getting comfortable, Lissa found what looked to be a lengthy movie series. She pressed play, and settled herself in between her siblings, leaning slightly on Chrom as per usual for a movie night. Coran felt mildly left out but said nothing. Chrom and Lissa had been siblings their whole lives and Coran had only recently stepped into the picture, after all. A buzz from their phone distracted them, and they were unsurprised to see what they assumed was Henry's contact name, though they didn't remember changing it to 'Lovebird' and they began to wonder the last time Henry had access to their phone. There was really no need to change it back as long as they knew who it was, however, as nobody would be looking at their phone.

**Lovebird: hey, cutie-pie! you awake?**

**Coran: Yeah**

**Lovebird: whatcha up to?**

**Coran: Movie night with pizza? I guess Lissa planned it**

**Lovebird: oooooh~**

**Lovebird: i'm at the front door btw**

**Coran: Come in, I'm sure you've already found the spare key.**

Coran tried to be surprised, but Henry had been doing that sort of thing for the past two weeks. He always popped up and disappeared whenever he pleased, and though they knew it should probably bother them, they couldn't bring themself to care too much. It was just how he was, they supposed, though they wished he would be a little more consistent. He never walked them home or anything, but he would randomly show up at ungodly hours to tell them some story he could have texted to them. They yawned and stretched slightly, scooting closer to Lissa to make room on the far end of the couch from Chrom. There was no way in hell Chrom would let Henry sit by him, and Coran would rather cuddle up with the Plegian than see Chrom pout. The bluenette hadn't stopped disliking the pale boy, but at least he was less vocal about it. Chrom and Lissa looked up at the sound of the lock clicking.

"It's just Henry…" Coran mumbled, and was proved to be right when the tall boy walked into the living room.

Chrom glared at the pale boy, who wordlessly sat down on the end of the couch closest to the door. He made himself comfortable, and Coran did the same, both ignoring Chrom. Lissa giggled slightly, and Coran found themself drifting off to sleep, lulled by Henry's steady heartbeat. It was really quite pleasant, and they felt warm, wrapped in both the blankets and his arms. When they woke up, they were alone in their room. Sitting up, they rubbed the sleep out of their eyes. A yawn escaped their lips, and they found themself wanting to go back to sleep, but the blaring alarm from their phone wouldn't allow it. Groaning, they wondered why they needed to wake up at four in the morning on a Saturday. They shut the alarm off, rubbing their eyes before seeing a bag they had packed with clothes and books for roughly a week. It occurred to them what day it was before there was a knock at the door.

"Coran, are you awake? Don't forget, we have to get to school by five thirty if we want to catch the bus to Regna Ferox."

Ahh, yes. They were leaving for the tournament. Almost all traces of sleepiness left them as they jumped out of bed and got themself ready. Soon, they were downstairs with all of their things, eating some form of breakfast as they waited for the others to get ready. Chrom was the first to join them at the table, and he looked tired. Lissa came down soon after, being gently pushed along by Emmeryn. After all of them had eaten, they piled into the car, Coran squished between Chrom and Lissa in the back while Frederick appeared out of seemingly nowhere to claim the front seat. Coran supposed he was there to help the family carry their belongs, but he really needn't have bothered. the quintet arrived at school with nearly half an hour to spare, and began to put things in the charter bus. Several people were also there, including the excitable Paige twins. Robin was likely excited for a much different reason than his sister, however.

For the most part, it was just the fencing club attending. Coran and Lissa were going along because Emmeryn was chaperoning. Robin was there with the excuse of being the inventory manager, though everyone knew he didn't need to be there. He argued that he was very important, and after receiving Chrom's seal of approval, that was that. Coran thought they saw Tharja out of the corner of her eye, but a moment later she was gone. Ten 'til five-thirty, Emmeryn began to call role.

"Kellam?" Coran blinked. Kellam was on the fencing team?

"Here." The answer was faint, but Coran saw Emmeryn check his name off.

"Cordelia?"

"Present." She saluted, and Coran recalled that her mother was the captain of the police force that rode Pegasi.

"Donnel?"

"Here an' accounted for, miss Esaltare sir, milady!" Donnel was a mess, as usual.

"Hmm, Chrom, Coran, Lissa, I know you three are here… Sully?"

"Here!" She waved from the bleachers, where Gaius seemed to be using her lap as a pillow.

"Sumia?"

"WAHH!" She had tripped. Emmeryn marked her as present.

"Anna?"

"Ready for business!" She winked.

"Anna, this is a tournament, not a business trip." Came the voice of Frederick.

"Anything is a business trip if you just believe!"

"Gaius?" Emmeryn called over the argument breaking out between co-captain and treasurer.

"He's here. Too tired to do anything though." Sully answered for him. Coran noted that Panna wasn't with them for once.

"Vaike?"

"Class is in session!" Followed by:

"Shut up." Coran had no idea who said that.

"Reflet?"

"I'm here, miss!"

"Robin?"

"..."

"Er, Mr. Paige?"

"..." Relfet sighed.

"He's on his phone off in some corner. Probably texting Tharja or something." Emmeryn frowned.

"Can you find him? We need to make sure everyone is here." Reflet nodded, cupping her mouth like her hands were a megaphone.

"Chrom, put your shirt back on!"

"What?" The blue-haired individual looked confused, and Reflet shook her head. Soon, Robin appeared.

"I'm here." He glared at his sister. Coran noted that Chrom was the most oblivious man on the planet.

"Frederick is here, Stahl?" There was no response.

"Oh, Stahl's father told me they would meet us halfway. Stahl was at his family's horse ranch yesterday." Emmeryn nodded.

"Okay now, we need to discuss sleeping arrangement for when we arrive at the hotel. There are fifteen of you, and one of me, so we make sixteen total. We're getting eight rooms, so we need to figure out who is sharing with who. I trust all of you, so I don't have any restrictions, really. Just write your names on this paper and I'll look over it before we get on the bus. Stahl isn't here yet so whoever is left without a roommate will be bunking with him."

Robin was one of the first ones to take the paper. He looked around at everyone before making eye contact with his sister and pouting. Reflet raised her eyebrows in amusement before her eyes flicked over to Chrom. Robin looked flustered before looking over to Chrom, not expecting the other to be staring at him. Chrom gave him a shrug and a nod, and Robin signed for him and Chrom to share the room. He then adjusted his glasses and began to text someone. Cordelia immediately signed to room with Sumia, and Sully with Gaius. Reflet shrugged, deciding to room with Vaike. The two of them got along surprisingly well after all. At that point the people left to sign were Kellam, Donnel, Coran, Lissa, Anna, Frederick, and Stahl. Lissa and Coran decided they would have some nice bonding time as siblings, so they signed together. Donnel said he actually kind of wanted to room with Stahl, as they were both farm boys. Kind of. Frederick roomed with Kellam, and Anna ended up rooming with Emmeryn.

By the time everything was taken care of, the bus had arrived at school. It was a comfortable looking charter bus, as they would be on it for quite a while. The group made its way onto the bus, but as Emmeryn did a quick headcount, she counted sixteen, excluding herself and the bus driver. Tharja appeared to have joined them at some point, and Emmeryn sighed. The Plegian girl quietly stated that she would simply share with Reflet. Reflet made a nervous sound of discomfort before quickly sitting next to Vaike in the window seat. Chrom insisted that Robin sit next to him, and Robin found himself agreeing without hesitation. For the most part, everyone either sat with who they were rooming with or by themself. The few people sitting alone were Tharja, Kellam, Anna, and Donnel. Frederick had found his seat next to Emmeryn, and the two of them were having what seemed to be a serious conversation. Before long, the bus started moving.

"Gosh, I heard it's super cold in Ferox. I hope I brought enough layers." Lissa mentioned off-handedly. Coran simply nodded in agreement. "Plegia's super hot though."

"W-why are you talking about P-Plegia all of a s-sudden?"

"What? Plegia's hot." She adopted the teasing face that Coran had been anticipating. "Not as hot as you think Henry is, though!"

"I-I-I d-don't think he's h-hot!" Coran barely remembered to keep their voice down as they blushed. "I said he's c-cute." Lissa laughed.

"Same thing!" Coran pouted. "Okay but seriously, what do you like most about him? Not personality-wise."

"I…" The answer was immediately apparent to them, but they really didn't care for saying it out loud.

"Come on! I won't tell anyone! Pinky promise." She held her hand out. Coran looked at her weirdly, and Lissa raised a brow before taking their hand and linking pinkies with them. "It means I won't tell a soul."

"... I-I mean, I guess if you r-really want to know…" They mumbled their answer, and Lissa put a hand around her ear.

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that."

"I-I said I like his l-l-legs!" They covered their face. Sometimes they wondered why they ever gave into Lissa's whims. She blinked.

"Oh."

"W-what?" She had sounded surprised.

"What? Nothing! I guess I was expecting something else from you, I dunno. Something about like, his eyes or something. Wait, scratch that." Lissa giggled.

"Why are you allowed to t-tease me about Henry b-but I d-don't even know who you l-like?" Lissa turned a little red.

"Well- I, I mean, I don't really like anybody, so! That's why!" Coran gave her a look. "Really, I don't think I do…" The blonde smiled. "That Marth guy was pretty cute, though."

"I-I don't r-really think they're a b-boy… P-plus they k-kind of look like C-Chrom…" Lissa blushed.

"I was joking."

"S-sorry."

She stuck her tongue out before yawning, and they both decided to take a nap. In fact, many people in the bus decided to go to sleep considering the fact that it was only six in the morning. Excluding the bus driver, the only people who didn't go to sleep were Emmeryn, Tharja, and Anna. Emmeryn was reading a book, Tharja was watching Reflet, and Anna was doing a lot of things on her phone. It had a small bear charm on it. The bus stopped to pick Stahl up, and it seemed the road trip would be boring and uneventful. This was disproved around two in the afternoon, and thankfully everyone on the bus was wide awake when the bus driver swerved on the road, nearly crashing as they came to a stop. Several people had yelled in shock, and Coran's eyes were wide in fear as their breath came fast. They had almost crashed.

"Hey, what's going on?" Chrom asked, standing up.

"This beast came out of nowhere, I almost hit it!"

"What beast?" Sumia asked, making her way to the front of the bus, closely followed by Cordelia.

"Sumi, is that..?"

"Catria!"

Sumia darted out of the bus as soon as the doors opened. Soon, many of the others were filing out of the bus as well, mainly for an excuse to stretch their legs. It seemed that Sumia recognized the pegasus that had swooped down in front of the bus. Catria, the pegasus, looked injured in some way, though none of them could understand how, or why she was there in the first place. She seemed agitated, and Sumia was the only one who could approach her without being attacked. After calming her down a bit, she also allowed Cordelia to approach, but nobody else. Nobody knew what to make of the situation, and Sumia bit her lip at the sight of her injured companion. She had to wonder where the injuries came from, and why she had flown there. Cordelia put a hand on her shoulder, whispering something in her ear before she turned to face the rest of the group.

"Cordelia and I are going to take care of her, don't worry! We should be able to make it in time for the tournament."

The two of them led the pegasus off of the road and everyone piled back into the bus. Nothing much happened for the next few miles until the driver slammed the breaks. Emmeryn stood up in surprise, and her eyes widened upon looking outside. If she was the screaming type, she would have screamed for the driver to just keep going. It seemed the Risen had almost surrounded the bus, and the driver slammed a foot on the gas, barrelling through the undead. Emmeryn called Phila, informing her of the situation before settling back down in her seat. Eventually, the group reached the cold, cold border of Plegia. They breathed a sigh of relief as no more Risen had popped up after the first group, and it seemed to be nightfall. A woman named Reimi greeted them, quickly leading the group to the place they would be staying at. Everyone found their rooms quite easily, and they were much too tired to talk about anything. In two days, the tournament would begin.

* * *

**_Word Count: 3,974_**

**Ch19 aka the road to Ferox.**

**So, I haven't finished writing next chapter. I don't know if I'll be able to post it on schedule next week, so if it doesn't, I am very sorry!**

**Anyways, just a quick reminder in case you'd like to check out my poll/profile. You don't have to, of course! But I would appreciate it.**

**Next Saturday (hopefully): Why do teenagers talk so much?**


	20. Chapter 20

The next day was the day before the tournament. Emmeryn claimed she would be meeting up with Phila before properly introducing herself to an officer who would be helping them with the Risen down in Ylisse if they won the tournament. The students were allowed to roam freely about Regna Ferox, so long as they didn't get lost or freeze to death. The cold weather made many of them want to stay inside, Robin especially. His twin sister seemed to have packed a bag full of winter clothes, however, and was enjoying the snow. Tharja had followed her outside, and it seemed Sully and Vaike were having a snowball fight that consisted of just shoving snow down each others coats. As Reflet built a snowman, Tharja provided the bits and details to make it 'come to life'. Not literally of course. Coran thought a living snowman would be quite frightening. They kind of wanted to join the people outside, but they didn't have a thick enough winter coat, and they had realized that they were quite sensitive to, well, any extreme temperature. At least the cold made it so nobody would question the long sleeves they always wore… Coran had definitely decided that they didn't like the scars that littered their pale skin, so they tried to hide them as much as possible.

After watching Sully and Vaike fight each other for a while, they left the window and joined Robin by the fireplace. The Plegian boy seemed immersed in a book that Coran couldn't see the cover of, and he was almost sinking into the comfortable armchair he was relaxing in. Coran sat on the ground, back to the fire as they pulled out a light magic tome. They had decided at some point that light magic was their favorite, though they didn't know why. It just sort of felt nice. The two of them read in silence until Robin stopped reading his book. Afterwards, he stretched, standing up from his chair. Coran looked up at him, and Robin had a look of surprise, as if he hadn't noticed Coran sit down. He probably hadn't.

"Oh, Coran. What are you reading?" Robin sat on the ground in front of them.

"Purge." They stated simply before laughing a little nervously. "Emmeryn t-told me it was a B rank tome, but I think it's k-kind of easy t-to understand…" Robin looked surprised.

"How did you get your hands on a Purge tome? Light magic is so expensive, plus it's extremely rare to find any of it ranked higher than C in your usual store."

"Oh… Is it? I found it in the l-library at my house. There are a lot of h-high ranked t-tomes there. I think it's b-because the Esaltare f-f-family has such a long h-history?" They smiled at him. "Y-you should come over sometime a-and check out our l-library…"

"Really? I'd love-" He seemed to realize something, and his excited face fell into one of disappointment. "... Actually, no, it's… It's fine. I wouldn't have time for anything like that anyways."

"Oh… S-sorry…" Coran mumbled. They noticed the book Robin was reading was actually a book for school. It looked rather old, ratty, and was falling apart. Coran knew how much Robin cared for his books, so they could only assume it was in that condition because it was borrowed from the teacher.

"No, it's nothing you need to apologize for." Robin adjusted his glasses. "I usually have work right after school, and I don't get out until late at night. Then I have to go home and try to do my homework before passing out. It makes it a bit difficult to find free time."

"B-but why do you h-have to work?" Coran covered their mouth soon after "S-sorry if I'm p-prying!"

"It's fine, I don't mind talking about it." Robin smiled reassuringly. "My mother took a long time saving up money to move us to Ylisstol. I don't think we could have gathered enough to move here if it wasn't for my aunt leaving us everything she owned when she died… We don't exactly live in the slums, but we're in one of the cheaper neighborhoods because it's so pricey living here. Money's been an issue ever since my dad died, so my sister and I work as many hours as we can now that we're old enough to have jobs."

"That sounds t-terrible…" Coran frowned. Robin laughed slightly.

"I don't mind too much. If I'm being honest, one of the reasons I wanted to come on this trip was so my mom wouldn't have to feed me for a few days. My sister and I always try to find ways to put less strain on her, so we stay over at other people's houses a lot. That way, she doesn't have to spend as much on food."

"... You're a good person, Robin." Coran told him quietly. Robin smiled softly at him.

"... Thanks. Sorry for talking so much. I guess I had to get that off of my chest." He picked up the Purge tome Coran had put down at some point and began flipping through it. "I was never very good at Light magic. Anima has always been my forte."

"Really? I-I think it's pretty simple. Now Elder magic, _that _m-makes zero s-sense to me."

The two of them spent some time talking magic and classes. At some point, the people outside came in, shivering from the snow. Robin shivered from the gust of cold air, still finding it hard to believe that this was what a summer in Ferox felt like. The group settled around the fire, with very few people missing due to not wanting to be outside in the cold. Sumia and Cordelia were on a date after having met up with the group several hours prior, though Coran suspected they were the only one who knew that was what they were on. Chrom was accompanying Emmeryn to meet the heads of the police office, along with Frederick. Kellam was probably around, but Coran didn't know where he was. The door swung open again, and Chrom walked in, followed by Frederick. Chrom sat next to Robin and Lissa, who looked to be texting someone (Maribelle, most likely).

"So apparently there was a mistake in the letter we received last month. Ferox simply agreed to help us under the condition that we participate in their fencing competition. We don't have to win, but it would be nice to break their team's winning streak." Chrom announced after getting comfortable next to Robin.

"Er, okay? I heard Ferox was weird, but that seems like a silly condition." Lissa said, looking up from her phone.

"Oh my gods, Lissa, don't you know anything about finances? Nobody ever comes to this tournament because it's so super cold and expensive getting all the way up here to Ferox. The police force is in charge of it, and we're asking for their help, so _obviously_ they're short on cash right now. The more people participate, the more money they get." Anna provided an explanation.

"I heard the fancy Plegian school made a fencing club this year. Do you think they'll participate?" Came the voice of Stahl.

"... Yes." Tharja stated, clinging to Reflet's arm. Despite Reflet's show of discomfort around Tharja from before, she seemed fine having the gloomy Plegian girl on her arm.

"Oh, of _course_ they make a fencing club the year after I leave."

"Almost makes you wish we stayed, huh?" Robin sounded oddly hopeful, and his sister stuck her tongue out at him.

"Of course not! I bet the fencing program here is way better, and I've met so many cool people. I love all of you guys." She smiled brightly. "Platonically, of course." Tharja said something only Reflet could hear, to which she replied with a playful smile and a poke on the nose. Coran wondered if something happened between them when they weren't looking.

"Yeah…" Robin looked at Coran, then Chrom. "We have met some really nice people."

Chrom made eye contact with Robin, and the Plegian boy's eyes widened. He quickly pretended to read his book, and Coran decided not to mention that it was upside down. Reflet looked amused by her brother's very obvious crush, while Lissa giggled at her own brother's obliviousness. The atmosphere of the room was quite peaceful, and everyone broke into separate conversations for a bit. Another gust of cold air greeted them and the two pegasus lovers entered the room. They were holding hands, but let go almost as soon as the door had opened all the way. A chorus of 'hello's greeted them, but before they could sit, Chrom approached.

"Er, Sumia, can I talk to you alone?" He looked nervous, and Cordelia frowned. Sumia smiled a little awkwardly.

"I… I guess you can? I'll be back in a little bit, Cordy." She hugged Cordelia, and followed Chrom down a hallway. Cordelia huffed slightly, sitting on the ground after dusting it off. Gaius looked at her in mild disinterest.

"What's your deal? Salty that your crush is goin' off with your best friend?"

"Of course not. I'll have you know that I'm not single, so I don't see why I should have anything to worry about with the two of them talking… alone…" She frowned.

"Huh. I guess my brother is gonna have a girlfriend now, huh?"

"I-I have a f-feeling that's n-not going to happen…" Coran stated, feeling a bit awkward about the situation.

"Why not? Sumia's got a nice set of tits, I'd totally go for that if Chrom didn't have dibs."

"Vaike, that's disgusting! Girls are more than walking sex-bits!" Lissa exclaimed. Most everyone in the room was looking at Vaike with some form of disgust.

"Damn, Teach, even I know that, and I'm me." Gaius stated from his position on the couch. Cordelia cleared her throat.

"I'm confident that Sumia wouldn't dump her _girl_friend to date Chrom of all people." She looked frustrated, and Coran blinked, surprised by her claim. "Perhaps if he were female, but somehow I doubt our beloved fencing captain is a trans girl." Most people in the room didn't say anything for a bit.

"Hey, Tharja and I are gay too." Reflet spoke, and Tharja simply nodded in agreement. "We can start a lesbian club!"

"Yo, I may not be gay, but I'm bi. Am I eligible for this club?" Sully looked amused.

"Well, if this were a club that existed, I'm sure we wouldn't limit it to just lesbians. I'd like to be a part of it too, after all, and I'm bi." Cordelia stated.

"Hey, Robin is gay, and as my brother, he's required to join." Robin's head shot up from behind the book.

"Sis, what the hell, you can't just out me like that!" He exclaimed. Reflet immediately looked guilty.

"Shit, I'm so sorry. Gods, I wasn't thinking at all." Robin glared, and Coran spoke up, albeit a little quietly.

"W-well, I don't think anyone r-really cares here… And it's k-kind of obvious that y-you have a c-crush on Chrom."

"I-I'm not in love with Chrom!" He attempted to defend himself, but it just made everyone laugh.

"Silly little brother, you can't lie to us like this."

"I'm older than you!" Reflet laughed.

"Well, you sure aren't taller than me!"

"At least I'm not dating my stalker." Tharja laughed quietly at Reflet's side.

"At least I have a girlfriend."

The twins continued to bicker, and Coran couldn't help but smile. They really had some interesting friends. Soon, Sumia returned, Chrom right behind her. She sat by Cordelia, kissing her on the cheek and cuddling up with her. Chrom didn't bother saying anything to the group before going outside, not even grabbing his coat. Before Coran could make an attempt to go after him, Robin stood up, grabbing the other male's discarded coat and following him despite not having anything warm on. The room was silent for a moment before Anna spoke.

"I don't really wanna get into any of this Sophomore drama, so I'm gonna go check out the marketplace."

She left, dressed as she usually was in her hoodie. Coran wondered how she wasn't cold, but assumed she would be fine. They looked around the room, taking in what everyone was doing. Cordelia and Sumia were enjoying each other, likely relieved that their friends didn't think too much of their relationship. Donnel was speaking to the air- no, with Kellam. Frederick was typing something on his laptop, something to do with college, most likely. Gaius had fallen asleep while leaning against Sully, who was having a staring contest with Vaike. Stahl was their 'referee' of sorts. Lissa was thumbing through a basic Lightning tome while texting someone (likely Maribelle), and Tharja was giving Reflet a massage of sorts. Coran stayed on the ground by the fire, knees drawn up to their chest. They glanced out the window before checking their phone, confirming that it was indeed quite late. And Henry had texted them at some point.

**Lovebird: hey cutie, hows Ferox?**

**Coran: Super cold**

**Lovebird: n'aww i bet if i were there you'd be all warmed up**

**Lovebird: that reminds of this one thing happened a while back!**

**Lovebird: so this one lady i know from this nagist temple by my house saw me walking home that night we met**

**Lovebird: she looked way sleepy. i kinda wanted to hit her with a sleep spell but my sis kinda set me on fire before i got the chance**

**Lovebird: the nagist nut went crazy protective and made me go to her house so she could take of me or something**

**Lovebird: she didn't really have to but she was really pretty so i let her nyahaha**

**Lovebird: you would have liked her**

**Lovebird: hey you still awake? **

**Lovebird: well call me when you get up because i miss your cute voice and i need to tell you the rest of the story!**

**Lovebird: night night!**

When Coran woke up, they found that someone must have carried them from where they fell asleep in the living room to the room they shared with Lissa. It was early in the morning, much earlier than anyone needed to be awake, but Coran decided to get something to eat. They walked down the halls, entering the kitchen. The building the group was staying at was really more of a large house than anything else. Gaius seemed to be cooking, and Sully was asleep at the counter. Coran sniffed, somewhat surprised by how good it smelled. Gaius turned his head upon hearing footsteps and waved once in a way that looked a little like a salute for whatever reason.

"Morning, Shortstack." Coran pulled a face at the nickname, but decided not to object otherwise upon seeing Gaius's smirk.

"M-morning…" They sat beside Sully, sparing her a glance before returning their attention to Gaius. "Is th-that f-for everyone?"

"Mmm? I guess. I'm used to cooking for people."

"O-oh?" He nodded, flipping a pancake before turning his attention to the sizzling bacon.

"Yeah. Back at the orphanage the cooking is up to us kids. Everyone knows Sully can't cook for shit, and Whiskers' tastes are a bit too animalistic for the rest of us. The three of us are the oldest ones there, and I don't wanna let the little guys near a stove so it kinda fell to me to learn how to cook." He scrambled an egg, and Coran couldn't help but find this side of Gaius to be highly agreeable and even a little attractive.

"Th-that's nice of y-you…" They mumbled, though they weren't sure if Gaius heard them.

"What's with the stare? You're not falling for me, are ya?" He had a lazy grin, and Coran blushed, looking away.

"M-maybe I just thought you weren't s-so b-bad, b-but I r-retract that thought!" Gaius laughed.

"Good. I have more than enough going on with my two girlfriends anyways." The bacon seemed to be finished, but Coran inched away from it. It was extremely greasy.

"Two?"

"Yup." Gaius opened the fridge, getting some fruit out. "Started out with just Whiskers, then Sully joined in on the fun. Now we have weird three-way dates and shit." Coran blinked. "It's okay if you think it's weird. Most people do."

"N-no, I just…" They frowned. "I m-mean, everyone knows, r-right?" Gaius nodded. "If all th-three of you are t-together I don't s-see what the i-issue is." They sighed. "It s-sounds k-kind of n-nice, honestly." Gaius laughed.

"It's pretty cool, yeah. There's nothing to be jealous of and all of us are happy."

He had a surprisingly soft smile as he set up the table. Coran helped, and soon the rather large table was set for every person staying in the house, and then some. People began to trickle into the dining room, and breakfast was a quiet affair. There were a few hours of free time before the tournament, even more so for those who weren't actually participating. Some people, like Sully and Chrom, went off to go train. Reflet decided to go out with Reflet, and Robin went off to watch Chrom train. The others also decided to explore or just hang around the house they were staying at. It wasn't as if they would be heading back to Ylisstol until a few days had passed, so they weren't missing out on anything if they didn't go out until after the tournament. Coran didn't exactly have warm clothes, so they stayed in the house. They realized they had several messages from Henry, and called him after reading all of them. He picked up rather quickly.

"Coran!" They yawned, much in contrast to his energetic voice.

"Good m-morning, Henry. How did that story have a-anything to do with being w-warmed up?" Henry laughed.

"I guess nothing. I just thought of it all of a sudden!" Coran decided that Henry's thought process had no real correlation. He just sort of said what was on his mind.

"What was the N-Nagist woman's name?"

"Oh, her name was Tiki. She has a little sister named Nowi, I think she's in the same grade as Ricken? Anyways, their mom is some lady named after Naga? It's all pretty crazy to me. Heck, they all have green hair, too!" He laughed. "Tiki insisted on patching me up after sis set me on fire even though it didn't really hurt."

"H-Henry, I don't th-think being s-set on f-f-fire is something you should b-brush off so easily…"

"She asked me if I knew anyone nicer than sis, so I told her about you." Coran blushed slightly at the fact that they were Henry's first thought when asked about someone Henry thought was nice. "But here's the crazy part! When I said your name, she looked really startled, like she knew about you or something. She almost said something weird, but I think she stopped herself."

"W-wait, what?" They frowned. "You h-have to take me to go see her."

"Will do!" Henry laughed. "How's my favorite little cutie doing?" Coran giggled.

"I d-don't think I was r-ready for the cold. I've b-barely left the place we're s-staying at. The tournament is t-today, though. I have to b-be at the 'arena' in an hour."

"Oh, wooow. You gotta tell me how it turns out. I heard PAMI is participating this year. The VP's daughter is super into fencing apparently, so she made the school's fencing club from the ground up. I even hear she's really good, like, she could probably kill you pretty easy if she wanted."

"O-oh… I m-might have to w-warn Chrom." They laughed, though that description made them uneasy. Who could the vice principal be? The daughter?

"Oh boy, I'd like to see that match." There was a sound in the background. "Oh, hold on, I gotta get Oslow outta the house. Sis's parents are freaking out." He laughed, and Coran heard the sound of wings flapping.

"Oslow?"

"He's one of my crow friends. He just wanted to bring me shiny book. Wow, this is fancy! I dunno if I've ever owned something this cool looking!"

"M-most people d-don't like having crows in the house…" They focused on the other thing he said. "A book?"

"Yeah, I think it's a tome. Aww, it's light magic, too. That sucks. I guess I'll never be able to use it. Light is my worst subject. Aureola is a super cool name, though."

"I've n-never even heard of th-that one…" They frowned.

"I'm gonna ask Tiki about it. She knows a lot of weird stuff."

"Tell me what you f-find out!"

"Will do! Heck, I'll go do it right now! See ya later, cutie!"

Henry hung up before Coran could respond, and they frowned. Shrugging, they checked the time, realizing they should probably head over to the arena. Most of the people in fencing club had already left for the arena, but Coran knew they had to be there earlier than they did. They bumped into Lissa, who had been in a souvenir shop. Apparently Maribelle had asked her to buy her something, and Lissa was fussing over what it should be. Coran suggested a snow globe, as Maribelle seemed the type to like delicate, artsy, pointless trinkets. Lissa giggled as she admitted they were completely correct. The two of them found their seats by Emmeryn, with Lissa next to her sister and Coran between Lissa and Robin. On Robin's other side was Tharja, and soon, all of them were waiting for the tournament to begin.

* * *

_**Word Count: 3,602**_

**Ch20 aka why do teenagers talk so much?**

**Quick reminder to check out the poll on my profile!**

**Hello Tiki exists did you know that**

**There'll be more info on her later tho!**

**Next Saturday: I know nothing about fencing but it'll happen and there'll be some drama.**


	21. Chapter 21

As the fencing tournament began, Coran realized they didn't really understand the rules of fencing. Sure, they'd tried paying attention the times they stayed after school with the club, but it still didn't make sense to them. Robin seemed to be focused on the match, muttering things to himself. Three minutes passed, and with that, the first bout had ended. Coran continued to be confused as they watched Robin get a notepad out and begin to scribble things down. Frowning, they glanced over at Tharja, who had her eyes closed, not paying attention to the tournament as Reflet was nowhere to be found as of then. Lissa was watching with the sort of mild interest one would normally have for an extremely important recurring event that one's sibling was always involved in. This was understandable, as she'd likely been to multiple fencing tournaments in her life. She would lean over to say something to Emmern every so often, and Coran kind of felt left out. They should really learn the rules.

After a few bouts, they decided they would enjoy themself more if they just watched, without trying to figure the rules out. They thought the outfits the contestants had to wear looked rather silly, though they made sense in practical terms. Coran watched with interest at the different styles, watching the jabs and slashes being dealt back and forth. Partway through the first round, Coran noticed a rather tall girl with dark skin and black hair. The hair was pulled up into a bun, but even then it was clear just how much of it there was. Coran couldn't make out her features but the sight of her made them uncomfortable, for some reason. Even as she donned her mask, Coran felt uneasy taking their eyes off of her, as if she could simply teleport beside them and do unspeakable things without any issue. As she stepped on the matt for her match, it was with clear confidence, and Coran heard Robin mutter from beside them.

"That's the vice principal's daughter, from PAMI." Coran frowned.

"S-something about her k-kind of f-freaks me out…" Robin nodded in agreement.

"She's insane. I think she was in charge of punishments, and she was always manipulating people. The only reason I got off the hook was because I was quiet and tried not to get on her bad side."

Her movements while fighting were incredibly fluid and smooth, as if she'd been fencing for longer than most others in the tournament. There were only really two people who could compete with her, one being someone who hadn't removed their masked the whole time, and the other being a male who had a distinctly Chon'sinian look to him. Even Chrom probably didn't stand a chance against her, which was a real shame as he was their best fencer. As the first round ended, it was clear the victor of the tournament would be one of the three unless another person pulled out some sort of unprecedented hidden potential. After glancing around, Coran's eyes fell on the dark skinned girl once more, and they had that same feeling of unease. A part of them swore they could feel a red glare from across the room.

"I-I think I'm going to g-go get some w-water…" To their surprise, Tharja stood up with them.

"I'm also a little thirsty." Her gaze flicked down to where the competitors were going off on their separate ways for the break. "And I don't like seeing Carel again. It's been years." Coran assumed she meant the vice principal's daughter.

"Y-you went to P-PAMI too, d-didn't you?" Tharja nodded as they began to walk. There would be around an hour for break time before the second round began.

"It wasn't for very long, though. I only went for around two years before moving to Ylisstol." She paused. "That was around four years ago. PAMI starts early, and doubles as a college, so a lot of people don't leave until they're in their twenties."

"Is that w-when you m-met R-Robin and R-Reflet?" She nodded again. "W-what about C-C-Carel?" For some reason, they stuttered heavily when speaking her name.

"She's a bitch." Tharja stated flatly. "I can appreciate someone doing some dark magic here and there for fun, but she goes out of her way to torture people for no other reason than to make them suffer. She doesn't even care if her victims live in the end, and she does it for her own sick amusement because she's a sadist, and as the vice principal's daughter, nobody can fault her for it." Coran was a little surprised by the animosity she held towards the girl.

"... D-did something h-happen?" Tharja was silent. "S-sorry, you d-don't have to t-tell me…" She nodded.

"All you need to know is that she's the main reason Henry and I had to leave." Coran got the feeling that they left at different times, and they frowned, nodding. They decided not to ask further questions.

The two of them walked towards the concessions, near the entrance. Emmeryn had given Coran enough money to buy anything they needed while in Ferox, though they didn't really want to spend much of it. It wasn't as if they deserved it, or earned it in any way, after all. It was with mild sorrow that they bought water as opposed to the delicious looking tea they were serving. After the two of them got their bottles of water, they decided to wander around slightly. Tharja seemed to be drifting rather close to where the contestants were supposed to be waiting, and though Coran wasn't completely sure if they were allowed to go back there, they didn't want to be left alone. The Plegian girl stopped directly in front of the door, looking as if she were pondering something. An argument could be heard from inside.

"Oh, it looks like the little white bird is trying to spread its pathetic little wings." The voice sent chills down Coran's spine. "It's a shame you're about as useless as a kiwi." It took Coran to remember that was a kind of bird.

"I didn't come here to listen to you talk down on me or my friends, Carel." Coran had never heard Reflet put so much hate into her words. "You're just mad because I left before you could break me." Carel let out a dark laugh.

"Oh please, you think you're special? I could have broken more than just your spirit with a flick of my wrist. In fact, I could do it right no-" Tharja seemed to have had enough, and she pushed the door open.

"Why don't you leave her alone before she stabs you, or worse- I set my nastiest curse on you." Coran followed after their friend, though they didn't exactly want to. Reflet looked rather shocked, and Coran got their first proper view of Carel.

She was tall, towering over most other people in the room. Her skin was dark, though not as dark as Tharja's. The black hair she previously had pulled up into a bun was in a simple ponytail, though it still almost managed to reach her thighs. It was rather silky, though somehow Coran could sense that she'd used magic to make it that consistency despite having just been wearing a fencing mask. In fact, no visible part of her had any sweat, a stark contrast to Reflet, whose white hair was sticking to her face due to perspiration. She even seemed to be wearing makeup; something that couldn't possibly look good after taking a fencing mask off. A beauty mark that reminded Coran an awful lot of their own rested just below her eye, which was a very distinctly red colour. They shuddered, wanting to run away from her. Everything about her appearance was telling them to run as fast they could and find Emmeryn.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here. It's the dirty lesbian and…" Her smirk fell when she caught sight of Coran. It became a frown, and they slowly began inching behind Tharja. "... Where the fuck did you find him." It wasn't even spoken as a question, and Coran flinched at both the cuss and the pronoun usage.

"Who's he?" Tharja questioned flatly, crossing her arms.

"That worthless boy behind you." She scoffed. "I can't believe how pathetic he is, hiding behind you of all people." Coran hugged themself, shaking heavily as they tried not to hyperventilate. They weren't sure what this girl had against them, and they wanted to disappear. "Looks like he's gotten even lower than I thought was possible."

"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. The only person standing behind me isn't a boy." Tharja glanced behind herself, and something changed in her expression. "I don't know what your connection to Coran is, but if you try anything, I'll have you cursed to death so fast you won't be able to ask daddy for help no matter how hard you try."

"Ha! I'd like to see you try." Carel's red eyes took on a rather sadistic glint to match the smile on her face. "I don't even need to do anything to break that white little abomination."

Coran's vision had blurred at that point, and they squeezed their eyes shut, heart beating wildly in their chest. Tharja put a firm hand on their arm, her skin cool and dry in contrast to their own. They heard Tharja saying one last thing to Carel before directing Coran out of the training room, where they weren't even supposed to be in the first place. Coran wasn't sure where they were when they sat down on the ground, but every part of them seemed to be telling them to curl into a ball and cry. They didn't know why they felt so overwhelmed by just hearing the Plegian girl talk, or why their body seemed to ache with bruises that had long since faded. Cruel laughter rang in their ears, and the fear that shot through them any time they even thought of the dark skin paired with red eyes was enough to make them never want to look at anyone ever again.

"Coran." Tharja's voice broke through their thoughts. "Hey. It's just me and you." They felt her hand lightly touch their head. "Nobody else is here, you're gonna be fine."

They took a long moment trying to focus on the physical contact, the slight tousling of their hair anchoring them to reality. Coran's chest was heaving, and they realized that the reason their vision had blurred earlier was in part due to them beginning to cry. They tried to wipe their face with their sleeves, but it seemed they hadn't stopped crying yet. Tharja very slowly adjusted their position so they were curled up against her, head on her shoulder. She rubbed their back as they tried to calm down.

"Th-Th-Th-Tharja, w-what colour are y-y-your e-eyes?" Their voice was muffled, but still clear in the empty hallway.

"They're grey." She answered simply, continuing her soothing motions. Coran's breathing slowed, returning to a more normal pattern.

"Y-you're s-s-sure?"

"Yes." Tharja answered patiently. "They're definitely grey, and they've been grey all my life." Coran wiped their eyes successfully this time, looking up at her and confirming that they were, in fact, grey, and not red.

"W-what about m-m-mine?" Tharja looked at them, thinking for a moment.

"They're hazel." She frowned. "Or maybe amber. I can't really tell." She gently put her hand on their cheek, angling their face to get a better look. "Amber, but I'm definitely seeing some flecks of brown, too." The Plegian girl wasn't exactly sure why eye colour was so important to Coran, but she knew it was best to go along with what they wanted at that moment.

"P-positive?" Tharja nodded.

"Positive. Are you feeling any better?" She combed her hand through their hair, trying to fix it the best she could. It wasn't very easy, seeing as it was always messy anyways.

"A l-l-little, m-maybe…" They looked away.

"It's okay, we can stay here as long as you need." Coran took her up on that offer, and the two of them stayed in that empty hallway for a while longer.

"D-did the n-next p-p-part of the t-tournament s-s-start?" They asked quietly when they felt up to maybe talking again.

"Yeah, probably." She glanced down the hall. "Ms. Esaltare is probably worried." Coran was mildly surprised by the formality directed at Emmeryn.

"I'm s-s-s-sorry…" They mumbled.

"She's not going to blame you. You're okay, you don't need to apologize."

Coran sniffed, mumbling another apology. Tharja said nothing of it, letting them use her as a literal shoulder to cry on before asking if they felt up to going back to watch the game. A quick shake of the head, and Tharja nodded, taking her phone out and texting Emmeryn. Everyone in the group had her number, just in case something happened. Coran stayed close to her, more in her personal space bubble than she would let most people tread. She made an exception for them before leading them towards the exit. They stopped before the door, Tharja wanting to decide where to go.

"We could go eat something." She glanced at their rather thin figure in concern. They mumbled an agreement of sorts, and they went to a nearby restaurant. After getting their food, Coran spoke.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry for m-m-messing up…" Tharja shook her head.

"It's fine." The hint of a smile graced her face. "I used to take care of Henry like this all the time." Coran looked surprised.

"B-but they don't- I-I mean, he d-doesn't…" They stopped talking, likely confused by the initial pronoun usage they'd gone with for the taller teen. "S-sorry…"

"You're fine. I don't really think Henry cares about pronouns." She sighed, sipping her drink. "He was a lot different when we were kids. His parents didn't spend any time with him so I had to take care of him instead." Coran frowned.

"Th-that's t-t-terrible…" They nibbled at their food. "... C-can we t-t-talk about s-something else?" They didn't want to talk about anything negative.

"... How's school been for you?" She asked after a moment, not really sure what to say.

It seemed to do the trick, and the two of them branched off to the topic of magic theory in general, before discussing the differences between the three types of magic. They had long since finished their food, and Tharja spoke of the specifics of hexes and curses. After what was likely over an hour, Coran felt that they had mostly recovered, and Tharja stated that the fencing tournament would be over soon. Wanting to see the victor, Coran decided they would work up the nerve to look at Carel again, albeit from a great distance. The two of them arrived, and several battles stuck out to Coran.

Chrom had been defeating his opponents with incredible dexterity. It seemed there would be no trouble for him, and would end up as a semi finalist at the very least. Lon'qu (the Chon'sinian male Coran had noticed earlier) had much of the same success. Unfortunately for him, however, it seemed his skill was overmatched by the person who had stayed masked the entire time. Looking up at the scoreboard, Coran realized with a start that their name was listed as Marth. Could this masked swordfighter be the same one who had saved them when the Risen fell from the sky? They hadn't removed the fencing mask the entire time, and Coran had to wonder where their sword was. If they remembered correctly, it was the legendary Falchion (or at least an exact replica of it), and the swordfighter didn't seem the type to let the weapon out of their sight. Their skill was unparalleled, and Coran hadn't seen them struggling in any way while fighting.

It wasn't until they faced off against Carel that they seemed to come anywhere close to losing. Both of their movements were so incredibly fluid and natural that it almost looked like they were dancing. The two of them, oddly enough, seemed to both be on the offensive side, swinging and jabbing their blades yet not being able to land a hit due to the incredible finesse the two of them had. In the end, it seemed that Marth had more stamina, as Carel's movements began to grow sluggish the longer they fought. After Marth scored the last point, Carel practically ripped her mask off, sending the swordfighter the most heated glare she could manage. She refrained from saying something as the other walked off somewhere else. The semi-finalists ended up being Marth and Chrom, and Robin turned to inform Coran that his predictions had been correct. Coran had been frowning, focussing on the fighting rather intently. Robin's words startled them slightly, but they couldn't help but smile at his happiness. His eyes were lit up with such pure enjoyment that Coran found themself feeling less stressed.

A small break was announced before the final match would be fought, and Chrom used the opportunity to rehydrate in preparation for his battle against Marth. He suspected it was the same Marth who had saved Lissa's life in the park that day, and after drinking an entire water bottle in the span of less than a minute, he looked around for them. They weren't easy to spot, due to the fact that they hadn't removed their mask. The only reason Chrom could safely say that it was Marth was because they had a sword across their lap as they sat with their legs crossed. It was most definitely the sword they'd fought with at the park. Chrom sat next to them, but they made no movement to show that they'd noticed. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Marth? Can I ask you something before we fight?"

"..." Marth was silent, and Chrom decided to keep speaking.

"Where did you get that? There's no way…" Even sheathed, Chrom recognized the distinct hilt of the legendary Falchion.

"Mm." Was their simple response, and it was clear that Chrom wouldn't be getting an answer to that question.

"Who taught you to fight like that?" He questioned, lips turning down into a frown.

"... My father."

Their answer was simple, and their voice scratchy as he remembered from the first time he met them. Despite the lack of emotion in their tone, he noticed their hand grip the hilt of the sword tightly. He couldn't help his curiosity, however. Chrom continued to speak.

"Who is your father?"

"I've…" Their voice cracked. "I've said enough for today." Chrom huffed.

"Is that how it's going to be? You saved my sister's life, so I can't help feeling like I owe you, but that doesn't mean I'll be holding back. I plan on winning this tournament."

"... Arrogant." Marth muttered, but said no more.

Chrom stood from the ground beside Marth, knowing he wouldn't be able to get any more answers out of them. That didn't stop him from having questions, however. There was so much mystery surrounding them that Chrom had no idea where he would begin. Soon, it was time for the match to begin. Marth had left their sword propped up against the wall, though Chrom could have sworn he saw them cast some sort of spell on it before joining him on the mat. He couldn't help but feel nervous as he faced against the other fighter. They were still as a statue, though he knew they could spring forward at any moment. From watching their fights with others, he knew he didn't stand a chance against the other blue haired individual. Oddly enough, he'd noticed that the more difficult contenders were the ones he never had to fight. It was clear to him that he had the upper hand in brute strength, but he very much doubted that would help him in this scenario. Marth's skill and speed were more than enough to work around Chrom's only advantage, but that didn't stop him from trying his hardest.

The match began, and unlike Chrom had predicted from watching their other matches, they hung back, not taking the first strike. They stood as still as they had before, and it was enough to throw him off. Despite Chrom clearly being confused by the different tactic, Marth didn't move. Completely unsure as to whether or not it was some sort of trap, Chrom took the offensive. It almost seemed as if the majority of Marth's skill had drained away, and the two of them seemed evenly matched despite Chrom knowing they could do better. They didn't even seem to be making an effort, and it was clear even to the spectators that something was off. Much to Chrom's frustration, he won. Marth had thrown the match. Afterwards, he approached them.

"What was that?"

"..." Like he expected, Marth said nothing, grabbing their sword before disappearing. Before he could say anything, a hand was put on his shoulder, and he was directed to the awards ceremony.

"Marth… Just who are you?"

* * *

**_Word Count: 3,523_**

**Ch21 aka I know nothing about fencing it happened and there was also some drama.**

**SO I'M REALLY SORRY THIS IS SO LATE OGM! If you saw my last author's note, I couldn't post this yesterday because I went to my girlfriend's house and so I didn't have the time to focus on writing the rest of it, so I'm really sorry.**

**I don't know if this chapter is good I'm sorry :c**

**I'm also going to stop the "Next Time" kinda thing bc I haven't written the rest out and I don't know exactly what's going to happen from here on out.**

**Anyways, I'd like to remind you to PLEASE check out the poll on my profile :0 It'll help me decide what to post more of in the future! Feel free to PM me with any questions uwu**

**Love you guys, hope to see you again?**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello, as you can see, this ISN'T an actual update, but it is very important regarding the existence of this fic.**

**I've lost my inspiration for it, mostly due to the fact that Coran isn't just another Robin to me. If you've read Definitely Better, that's honestly what I perceive them and their backstory to be. None of this amnesia nonsense with the obvious of Validar being their father, because Coran has gone from being a MU to being an OC.**

**I'm not sure if I wan't to just delete it, because it's gotten so far and is definitely the longest thing I've ever written, but...**

**It just feels weird.**

**What do you think I should do?**

**I'd feel bad cancelling it because it got third place in my poll (tho, it was tied with my Fates Ghost AU so that isn't too big of a deal I guess) but I've really lost my motivation for it...**


	23. Note of Discontinuation

**Last time I "updated" it was an authors note wondering about the continuation of this fanfic. I know I haven't been around much (September is already almost over and I meant to be updating my stories regularly!) so I'm really sorry to say this but...**

**Another Chance has been discontinued.**

**I started it a long time ago, and while I enjoyed it while I was writing it, I've branched off and my writing style has improved greatly. I love Coran, they're one of my favorite OCs, but that's the thing now. They're an OC, they're not just another MU. I can't write this story anymore, because it doesn't fit them.**

**If you want to read more of Coran, please check out my fic Definitely Better! It's a fic following Coran's life in the FEAverse, if they weren't just a Robin. Most of my ships and such that were planned for AC will stick to that fic, and we see a lot of Coran's life before meeting and becoming a member of the Shepherds. Just because they aren't Robin doesn't mean they won't be around for the ride! And I'll still try to add my own twists to the usual FEA plot, so don't worry, I'll try not to make it too boring.**

**I hope you enjoyed this fic while it lasted, and will continue to enjoy Coran in Definitely Better, but if this is where it ends for you, that's alright. I'm glad to have made something that anybody really tried to read for so long, and I'm very sorry it'll never be completed, but I don't regret it. Goodbye!**


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